Diary Entry 14

Props List

This is the props list I have made in order to know what I will need on the day of shooting.

Music video props list from medialauren

Costume Planning

I have decided that my actor in my video will wear fairly casual clothes such as jeans, converse or biker boots and a jacket/coat. I have chosen these pieces of clothes because it relates to the style of clothing people listening to this genre would wear.
I have chosen my actor to wear either a leather jacket or a dark coloured coat. I want her to wear fairly low-key clothing because I want the location to stand out, and in other indie rock music videos, the outfit is the not what the audience needs to look at but rather the concept of the video and the lyrics of the song.
Originally I wanted to involve other actors and have them wear white t-shirts with the lyrics printed on them, however I felt that this would distract from the key prop which will be the yellow balloons. I also know that I will be shooting during the winter so for practical reasons I decided it
 would be best not to include the t-shirts and rather use jackets or coats on all the actors involved as this would be more realistic.

Influences on Music Genre

I have been researching the different things that would impact and influence the music genre of indie rock. This has been very interesting for me as I have been able to research several different indie rock bands and their music videos, and observe how different issues such as social issues, or fashion influences, have impacted their music videos.

Influences on music genre from medialauren

Diary Entry 13

Diary Entry 13 on Prezi

Tracking an artist through their career

Tracking an artist throughout their career from medialauren

Conventions of a Music Video

Analysis of previous media students' A2 work

In order to gain more knowledge about what my music video could look like, and what is possible to achieve, I have looked at previous student Amy Bartlett's music video. I really enjoyed watching this video and thought it was very unique and special because it was unlike any other video I saw from previous years. She chose to use a theme of roses throughout the whole project and music video and this was very consistent throughout the video. She also seemed to be inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland' which was reflected throughout the video. Some examples of this was the actors' hair, which was long and wavy with a headband, just like Alice in the story. Costume and mise-en-scene was vital in this video to make audiences realise the Alice in Wonderland theme and the actors' outfit with the knee-high socks was excellent in doing this. The tea party is an essential part of the story and therefore is included in the music video. Even the playing cards are shown in the music video. Although the story is traditionally quite light and fun, this music video is portraying it as quite dark and mysterious, which is apparent due to the lighting. The lighting is low key and dark and creates a fairly sad tone to the video. The sepia green/brown lighting used adds to this mysterious and dark tone and the lyrics reinforce this. The location of the forest used adds to the intrigue of the video, because it is dark and forests are known to be quite scary and mysterious. The director most likely chose to use the forest as it the key location in 'Alice in Wonderland' and the fact that it was shot at night time in the dark makes it even more unique and creative. The painting of the rose in white suggests innocence, and the director seems to be using this as a theme for her music video, which would explain the inspiration of Alice in Wonderland for the music video.

In terms of strengths and weaknesses of this video, I think the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. The props used were very detailed and interesting and show that the director has put a lot of effort during the production process, as well as planning process. Also, the sepia tone effect makes the video really stand out and makes it much more memorable than other videos with no such lighting. It makes the video much more interesting and adds to the narrative of the video. The actor chosen for this video is believable in her role and this is very important and I intend to find an actor who can perform just as well. It is very important to find a good actor to be in your music video because if they are not grabbing the attention of the audience, then the music video will be much less successful. In terms of weaknesses, the only main thing I picked up on was that in the woods the camera is slightly too shaky, which makes it harder for audiences to focus on what is happening in the video. Also sometimes the miming is out of sync with the song, which is a vital problem.

Analysis of previous students' A2 work

I have chosen to investigate past student Amy Bartletts' A2 work. In this slideshare document, I have analysed her digipak and magazine advert. I found her work really interesting and different from any others I saw. I really like how she used the unique theme of roses throughout all her print work, I would like to do something similar for my print work.

Analysis of previous students a2 work from medialauren

Research Into Band/Artist I Have Chosen

Originally, I was thinking of using OneRepublic's song 'Marchin on' as the song for my music video. However, I decided against this when I realised it would not go well with my concept for my narrative, therefore I decided to use Of Monsters and Men's song 'The Yellow Light'. In order to learn more about the band, I decided to do some research on it.

Diary Entry 12

Recently I have been completing research for my music video, in particular research for a location. I travelled to Tottenham Court Road in Central London to scout locations however decided it would be too busy to shoot there, and also there was no real pieces of nature surrounding the area, which I really want to include in my music video.
So, I then started investigating other locations and came across South Bank in Central London. I think a Central London location would be great for my music video, because in London there is such variety, visually, there are beautiful parks as well as tall buildings and architecture.
Also, I still want to include people wearing t-shirts with the lyrics on, and the main lyric to include will be 'Marchin' On' because I'm thinking about using One Republic's song 'Marchin' On'. i have decided that if I used this key lyric I won't need many people to wear them, and thus it will be cheaper. I think I'm going to use about 3 or 4 people for this task.

Initial Planning Ideas - Possible Location

I have been thinking about using South Bank in Central London as the location for my music video. I chose this location because my video will involve my actors walking down a street or pavement, and in terms of practicality, there is lots of space at South Bank, which will make it much easier to get good shots and a variety of shots from different angles.

Also, I really like the mixture of nature and the architecture, as well as the tall lamp posts and trees.
This place also has lots of benches, which is perfect for my idea about having a shot with someone sitting down reading a newspaper with one of the lyrics embedded in it.
This location has amazing views of Central London, so will provide a great visual for the audiences, as well as the narrative that will be involved.

Actor Release

I have got a actor release form and asked my actor to complete it. This allows me to have her full permission to use her in all of my work for my music video.

Initial Planning Ideas - T-Shirt Printing Shop Research

I have been researching places to find t-shirt printing in my local area or online. I want to include t-shirts with key lyrics from the song printed on them for my music video.
I have found a website called vistaprint.co.uk which offers mens and womens t-shirts for a fairly cheap price. It will allow me to write any text on the front of the t-shirts, however it does not seem to give me the option to have the text on the back of the t-shirts, which was I would definitely like to do. Therefore this website is a good option but I will consider alternatives.

Another website I have found is called printmyown.co.uk and this website does give me the option to have text on the back of the shirt. It doesn't seem to have womens/mens t-shirts but they do come in various sizes so they would still be useful. The cost is reasonable (£12.50 for one t-shirt), however I feel the first website may be more appropriate as it offers deals aswell.

Diary Entry 11

Today I have been continuing with my work on research into existing music labels. Unfortunately this prezi and another prezi I have done could not save so in order to keep my work I had to persevere and put them in to new prezi's, which was a setback because this technical difficulty cost my time I could have spent continuing and improving my work.

Pitch for ideas

Proposal from medialauren

Research into existing music labels

Research Into Existing Music Labels on Prezi

Diary Entry 10

I've been improving my history of music videos prezi today. I included information about the development of the music video genre and included lots of different facts about important music videos like Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and Bob Dylans' 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'.

Diary Entry 9

Today I have been working on my prezi about Digipaks. I decided to include an example of a real digipak done by a current artist to show where I would get my inspiration from if I did a digipak. I also started editing my 'History of Music Videos' prezi because I felt it needed more detail.

Diary Entry 8

In Todays lesson I have been researching music channels. I have looked in to MTV, 4Music and VIVA, and put all the research I found into a slideshare presentation. I have also been setting myself targets and looking over my blog and found things to improve, such as my history of music videos prezi, which needs adding to it. I have also decided that at some point I will be presenting an upcoming diary entry through video. I think this will give my blog more variety and present my research and diaries in different, interesting ways.

Music Channels

Music channels from medialauren

Research into possible equipment choices

Research into possible equipment choices on Prezi

Diary Entry 7

In todays lesson I have been creating a prezi detailing the research I have done on possible equipment choices for my music video. I have included on this prezi: names of the equipment I can use, images of this equipment, and information about how and why it could be used for my music video and also if I feel I want to use this equipment for the making of my music video.

Diary Entry 6

I have been thinking more about the shots I want to use for my music video and have decided that I want a high number of extreme close-up and close-ups because I am struggling to find a interesting location to shoot and extreme close-ups are very forgiving and will bring the attention away from the uninteresting location. Furthermore, I want to include the fisheye lense in my music video, even if its just in a small aspect of the video. I think it will work really well because I still want my artist to be hallucinating and questioning what reality is, and a fisheye lense would convey this very well. I also want to have t-shirts with important lyrics from the song printed on the back, and have them walk away from the camera in order for the audience to see them but not be distracted by their faces - this will make sure the focus remains on the artist and the song.

Fisheye Lens

Extreme close-up shot

History of music videos

History of Music Videos on Prezi

Evidence of music videos that inspire/influence me

Digipak

new prezi on Prezi

Diary Entry 5

In todays lesson I have been cleaning up my blog to make it clearer andmore accessible. I have been watching a wide range of music videos, all good and popular for different reasons in order to inspire me for when I make my music video.

Diary Entry 4

I've decided on the beginnings of a concept for my music video. I would like my singer, in a close up for most of the video and using the fish eye lens, create an effect which makes her seem like she is hallucinating. She will be miming along to the words while strange creatures and people with t-shirts with some of the lyrics on them walk by. I want it to feel like an alternate, colourful confusing world.

Diary Entry 3

Diary Entry 2

In todays lesson I have been researching potential songs I might like to use in my music video. I've also been discussing with my peers about how I can incorporate Goodwin's theory when choosing my sound. I am contemplating using one of his features which says that music links with the visuals or the lyrics link with the visuals. I'm leaning towards using a fairly upbeat indie music song.

Diary Entry 1

In todays lesson we looked at all the equipment available to us when we make our music videos. Here is a list of the equipment available:

Canon 550D SLR - I have chosen to use this camera when shooting my video as it is much easier to carry than the Sony HD camera and is still very good quality.

Sony HD 1000E

Jib

Steady Cam - I want to use the steady cam while filming my video because it will allow me to create a more professional tone to my video.

Fisheye lens - I definitely want to incorporate this lens into my video because I think it will make it more unique and interesting

Macro Adapter - I am interested in using this adapter because it will provide me with very close-up shots and therefore give me more interesting shots and angles than other music videos.

Wireless mic

Dead cats

Boom mic

Multi-cam console - I am thinking about using this multi-cam console because again I think it will provide me with a lot of variety with the shots I use and keep my audience interested in the video. I also think it will display my technical skills well.