I was not able to film on the 27th so I am going to start filming tonight. I am going to film the chorus and a part of the beginning.
The part will star Ewan who is seven years old as I'm going to present him dressed as an old man to go with the lyrics 'I wont be the lonely one sitting on my own and sad, a fifty year old reminiscing what I had'. He will be wearing a flat cap and drinking a cup of tea because that's what you associate with an old man.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Prop Changes
I have changed my video slightly and will now not feature a birthday cake, dog, football etc, however it still features the flat cap because it represents(symbolises) old men and the lyrics of the song are about a father leaving a son, in a way it symbolises the only thing the young boy has left of his father.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
What I am Currently doing.
I am currently focusing on creating an animatic so then I can begin filming, which I am planning on starting on Sunday the 27th of November.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Props
I am using the thick rimmed RayBan's as an intertextual reference to the lead singer of the band Glasvegas as he is wearing them in the video to the song Daddy's Gone.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Genre Conventions
In this essay I am going to explore the genre conventions of ‘Indie-Rock’, I will also look at the history of indie/rock and more specifically the song ‘Daddy’s Gone’ by ‘Glasvegas’ in which I am using to use to create my music video.
First of all a genre is a category and conventions are what you expect from a specific genre. Music can be divided into many genres; this is due to the different purposes behind them and the different points of view from which they are made. Genres often overlap creating many sub-genres. For example ‘Indie-Rock’, which I am going to explore in more depth, is a sub-genre of ‘Alternative-Rock’. Alternative-Rock originated in the 1980’s and became popular in the 90’s bringing us music by artists such as ‘Red Hot Chilli Peppers’, ‘Nirvana’ and ‘Foo Fighters’. Indie-Rock also came about in the 80’s, however bands never really got any commercial success until the millennium as a result of the changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the internet. Independent music, ‘Indie’, is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiary. Independents have a ‘do-it-yourself’ approach to recording and publishing which means they have a very little expenses and everything has to be done low-budget. Nevertheless artists have artistic freedom to be themselves therefore they are able to explore sounds, emotions and subjects limited to appeal to mainstream audiences.
As the Indie-Rock genre is so immense these days, there are many sub-genres, however when anyone thinks of indie-rock as a whole certain elements come to mind such as all bands play their own instruments and bands are very male dominated.
On the other hand, the band Glasvegas (who’s song ‘Daddy’s Gone’ I am using in my music video) have a female drummer which ultimately shows how dynamic conventions of genres can be and also backs up Steve Neal’s theory (1995) in which he said ‘Genre reflects the culture that creates them and shows things of the time. They express things in society’ because women now are seen as equal to men therefore it been seen as the norm for a female to be in a former male dominated industry.
Glasvegas are a Scottish indie-rock band from Glasgow which consists of three men and a woman. The band are known for using their strong Glaswegian accents in their songs, making them very unique as it is rare for most artists to do so but as they are signed to Columbia (EMI/SONY) which is a subsidiary label, they are able to use their artistic license and stay true to themselves, reinforcing what indie-rock is all about. The song I am using for my music video is ‘Daddy’s Gone’ which is about the break-up of a family because of the father’s behaviour, You can tell that there is a lot of resentment towards the father as the lyrics are quite hard-hitting but a lot of people can relate to the song, ergo making them likeable. The song is very ‘indie’ because it’s not just about love or socialising with friends, which most mainstream songs tend to be about (vaguely), it’s about something which has happened in a band members life and they have been able to put and express their emotions in to the lyrics to emote the listener.
Artists also tend not to care so much of their appearance. For them it is all about the music, opposed to an artist of a major label who is manufactured to look and act a certain way with the intention of giving mainstream audiences something to aspire to. Conventional of the indie genre males are seen to wear Drain-Pipe Jeans, a knitted jumper, possibly a patterned polo and some battered plimsolls. Females of the indie genre would wear quite quirky tops, leggings and basically anything vintage looking that isn’t too bright.
In conclusion the genre conventions of Indie-Rock are very vague however the stereotypical image which immediately appears in your head when envisioning the genre, in my opinion would be, a band that includes all males which all are dressed casually and are all playing instruments. Then again after exploring further into the genre I began to realise how people of different ages will have a different set of conventions for the indie-rock genre as it is very dynamic due to the way in which society changes. This is because Indie-rock artists write and sing about ‘of-the-time’ situations.
First of all a genre is a category and conventions are what you expect from a specific genre. Music can be divided into many genres; this is due to the different purposes behind them and the different points of view from which they are made. Genres often overlap creating many sub-genres. For example ‘Indie-Rock’, which I am going to explore in more depth, is a sub-genre of ‘Alternative-Rock’. Alternative-Rock originated in the 1980’s and became popular in the 90’s bringing us music by artists such as ‘Red Hot Chilli Peppers’, ‘Nirvana’ and ‘Foo Fighters’. Indie-Rock also came about in the 80’s, however bands never really got any commercial success until the millennium as a result of the changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the internet. Independent music, ‘Indie’, is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiary. Independents have a ‘do-it-yourself’ approach to recording and publishing which means they have a very little expenses and everything has to be done low-budget. Nevertheless artists have artistic freedom to be themselves therefore they are able to explore sounds, emotions and subjects limited to appeal to mainstream audiences.
As the Indie-Rock genre is so immense these days, there are many sub-genres, however when anyone thinks of indie-rock as a whole certain elements come to mind such as all bands play their own instruments and bands are very male dominated.
On the other hand, the band Glasvegas (who’s song ‘Daddy’s Gone’ I am using in my music video) have a female drummer which ultimately shows how dynamic conventions of genres can be and also backs up Steve Neal’s theory (1995) in which he said ‘Genre reflects the culture that creates them and shows things of the time. They express things in society’ because women now are seen as equal to men therefore it been seen as the norm for a female to be in a former male dominated industry.
Glasvegas are a Scottish indie-rock band from Glasgow which consists of three men and a woman. The band are known for using their strong Glaswegian accents in their songs, making them very unique as it is rare for most artists to do so but as they are signed to Columbia (EMI/SONY) which is a subsidiary label, they are able to use their artistic license and stay true to themselves, reinforcing what indie-rock is all about. The song I am using for my music video is ‘Daddy’s Gone’ which is about the break-up of a family because of the father’s behaviour, You can tell that there is a lot of resentment towards the father as the lyrics are quite hard-hitting but a lot of people can relate to the song, ergo making them likeable. The song is very ‘indie’ because it’s not just about love or socialising with friends, which most mainstream songs tend to be about (vaguely), it’s about something which has happened in a band members life and they have been able to put and express their emotions in to the lyrics to emote the listener.
Artists also tend not to care so much of their appearance. For them it is all about the music, opposed to an artist of a major label who is manufactured to look and act a certain way with the intention of giving mainstream audiences something to aspire to. Conventional of the indie genre males are seen to wear Drain-Pipe Jeans, a knitted jumper, possibly a patterned polo and some battered plimsolls. Females of the indie genre would wear quite quirky tops, leggings and basically anything vintage looking that isn’t too bright.
In conclusion the genre conventions of Indie-Rock are very vague however the stereotypical image which immediately appears in your head when envisioning the genre, in my opinion would be, a band that includes all males which all are dressed casually and are all playing instruments. Then again after exploring further into the genre I began to realise how people of different ages will have a different set of conventions for the indie-rock genre as it is very dynamic due to the way in which society changes. This is because Indie-rock artists write and sing about ‘of-the-time’ situations.
What I am Currently doing:
I am currently working on finishing my storyboard. I will then make an animatic in order to be able to see if there needs to be any changes etc. before I go on with filming.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
History of the Music Video
Music videos haven’t always been around, in the 1950’s artists had to make films in able to promote their tracks and themselves. The most popular was artists such as Elvis and The Beatles. Elvis became popular worldwide with such films as Jail House Rock; all his songs were written by professionals. In the early 60’s attitudes towards young people changed. They became more rebellious and girls in particular didn’t want to be like their parents and ultimately challenged their views and values. The teenager was invented.
The Beatles in 1964 made the film Hard Day’s Night (directed by Dick Lester) which created an image which was consistent. They featured a lot of close-ups which was needed to promote stars. They then went on to make HELP! which was a colour film and linked in with their previous films.
Bob Dylan made a documentary called Don’t Look Back directed by D.A Pennabaker which is regarded as the first music video even though it’s just on the beginning. Dylan was challenging people and their views and one of the first artists to write his own songs with lyrics with much meaning. This was in 1965.
In 1967 The Beatles made ‘I am the Walrus’ where their image became more ‘wild’. The end of the video has vocals talking over the music to which it says ‘umpa umpa stick it up your jumper, everybody smoke pot’, which again is creating the rebellious the rebellious teenager.
In the video to the song the lyrics are shown visually, for example when it says ‘I am the Walrus’ somebody dressed as a walrus appears on screen.
David Bowie in 1972 released a futuristic music video to his song ‘Space Oddity’. It’s a performance where we see lots of major close-ups and regular close-ups of Bowies face in order to promote him and to create his ‘weird’ image. They filmed the video in a recording studio and edited the piece with a red tint to make it look futuristic and space-like.
1975 saw rock band, Queen, release ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ which was at number one for nine weeks and cost £5000, which was very expensive in those days. Regarded as the first ‘real’ music video the band gives off a ‘glam-rock’ image in the performance element of the video. Low angles are recurrent throughout the video as they make the artists look dominant and powerful.
The development of the music video gradually got better and in the early 80’s Peter Gabriel released ‘Sledge Hammer’ which made videos become more important for artists. Gabriel used imagery to interpret lyrics; there were also aspects of animation in there too.
As music video’s got better, bands and artists began to experiment more.
Michael Jackson made short film Thriller which made millions of dollars and cost a million dollars. It follows a narrative structure and uses horror conventions and codes (semiotics). It uses performance and dancing. It also has intertextual references and is self-reflective and aware of itself as a media text as at points Michael will look at the camera directly.
Throughout the 80’s and early 90’s we saw the humorous, self-reflective video by The Beautiful South with ‘A song for whoever ’. The video is self-aware of itself as a media text which creates humour; it also has elements of performance and narrative but doesn’t have any link with the song lyrics.
To be quite artistic it also features colour isolation, which was seen as advanced.
A lot of artists began to use intertextual references for example Madonna and her video Vogue presented Madonna looking almost identical to glamorous Marilyn Monroe as the video is projecting the audiences desires.
Also REM’s video to ‘Losing my Religion’ where it represented the fact that religion has been shattered so man is creating his own, they do this by showing angles losing their wings.
In the 1990’s Fat Boy Slim changed music videos ultimately as he didn’t star in his own video to his song ‘Right here’. The majority of the video is comprised of CGI and it shows the process of evolution.
Radio head in the late 90’s used black and white in their video to ‘Street Spirit’ to give an abstract and artistic interpretation but it has no meaning however because its abstract we still enjoy it.
Weezer ‘Buddy Holly’ in the late 90’s was very advanced and used clips from TV show Happy days in the video to look like they was actually there. It’s very humorous and enjoyable for the audience and fans because it gives you something to look at.
The Beatles in 1964 made the film Hard Day’s Night (directed by Dick Lester) which created an image which was consistent. They featured a lot of close-ups which was needed to promote stars. They then went on to make HELP! which was a colour film and linked in with their previous films.
Bob Dylan made a documentary called Don’t Look Back directed by D.A Pennabaker which is regarded as the first music video even though it’s just on the beginning. Dylan was challenging people and their views and one of the first artists to write his own songs with lyrics with much meaning. This was in 1965.
In 1967 The Beatles made ‘I am the Walrus’ where their image became more ‘wild’. The end of the video has vocals talking over the music to which it says ‘umpa umpa stick it up your jumper, everybody smoke pot’, which again is creating the rebellious the rebellious teenager.
In the video to the song the lyrics are shown visually, for example when it says ‘I am the Walrus’ somebody dressed as a walrus appears on screen.
David Bowie in 1972 released a futuristic music video to his song ‘Space Oddity’. It’s a performance where we see lots of major close-ups and regular close-ups of Bowies face in order to promote him and to create his ‘weird’ image. They filmed the video in a recording studio and edited the piece with a red tint to make it look futuristic and space-like.
1975 saw rock band, Queen, release ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ which was at number one for nine weeks and cost £5000, which was very expensive in those days. Regarded as the first ‘real’ music video the band gives off a ‘glam-rock’ image in the performance element of the video. Low angles are recurrent throughout the video as they make the artists look dominant and powerful.
The development of the music video gradually got better and in the early 80’s Peter Gabriel released ‘Sledge Hammer’ which made videos become more important for artists. Gabriel used imagery to interpret lyrics; there were also aspects of animation in there too.
As music video’s got better, bands and artists began to experiment more.
Michael Jackson made short film Thriller which made millions of dollars and cost a million dollars. It follows a narrative structure and uses horror conventions and codes (semiotics). It uses performance and dancing. It also has intertextual references and is self-reflective and aware of itself as a media text as at points Michael will look at the camera directly.
Throughout the 80’s and early 90’s we saw the humorous, self-reflective video by The Beautiful South with ‘A song for whoever ’. The video is self-aware of itself as a media text which creates humour; it also has elements of performance and narrative but doesn’t have any link with the song lyrics.
To be quite artistic it also features colour isolation, which was seen as advanced.
A lot of artists began to use intertextual references for example Madonna and her video Vogue presented Madonna looking almost identical to glamorous Marilyn Monroe as the video is projecting the audiences desires.
Also REM’s video to ‘Losing my Religion’ where it represented the fact that religion has been shattered so man is creating his own, they do this by showing angles losing their wings.
In the 1990’s Fat Boy Slim changed music videos ultimately as he didn’t star in his own video to his song ‘Right here’. The majority of the video is comprised of CGI and it shows the process of evolution.
Radio head in the late 90’s used black and white in their video to ‘Street Spirit’ to give an abstract and artistic interpretation but it has no meaning however because its abstract we still enjoy it.
Weezer ‘Buddy Holly’ in the late 90’s was very advanced and used clips from TV show Happy days in the video to look like they was actually there. It’s very humorous and enjoyable for the audience and fans because it gives you something to look at.
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