feedback on our treatment

We had a meeting with Matt today about our finished treatment. 

He thinks we should lean into the idea of using editing techniques such as mirroring to help with the symmetry. Matt is worried that our video will start relying on props too much if we lean into the Wes Anderson idea anymore which is fine because that's not what we really want, we're thinking our video will be a bit more cool and elements of quirky and eclectic will just run through the video instead. 

Matt suggested we consider having the video have a cyclical 'narrative' or an ending that reveals something. 

For example; we would have a cake in the centre of the screen looking like a regular but very symmetrical cake and then two hands would reach in to take a slice. Little things like that which change the dynamic of the video. This would also work with palindromic words such as mum or shapes like sunflowers or dominos. 

With the vibe of the song, it would work if the song had a bit of a punchline at the end. He gave an example of this being the 'smack my bitch up' video by prodigy. In the video we see a person doing loads of bad things and then at the end of the video the man is revealed to be someone else.
 

After this meeting we have a lot to think about, especially with the details of the symmetrical shots etc if we want them to look really good and not cheap or empty, we need lots of props and to think out the camera work really well. 

Camera Workshop

 Today we had a camera workshop with Matt in the studio.

He started off by showing us what the shutter does and how it affects the shots. With the shutter at 180° the footage looks the most natural and the most like we see real life. Whereas at 72° the footage is a lot sharper, this is good for things such as action films where there is a lot going on in the scene. Matt suggested it would be a good idea for us to consider switching up the shutter angle to at some dynamics to our video as it is very stylised. Having the shutter angle at 360° would be interesting for us as it looks very non-naturalistic. 

We then had a look at lenses. The lease most commonly used is a zoom lens. Although they provide diversity they compromise the quality of the shot. So matt showed us a range of different lenses we can use.

Switching lenses does take time and certain lenses require a tape measure just to make sure the shot is in focus. We don't have a lot of time to film so probably won't be changing the lease too often if we can help it. 

The prime lease needs more assistance such as measuring for focus, however, the quality of the shot is amazing and will be very useful for the close up shots we have in mind. we asked Matt what lease would be best for a tracking hot because we had a few in mind. He said that he would actually switch between lenses as the camera zooms in which would be very time consuming so we might have to reconsider those shot ideas. 

We then spoke about shot composition and how when filming for camera you have more options to be experimental with the positioning of the band. Matt set up the camera in a few different ways and we experimented with setting up the 'band'. This is important for my group as a lot of the shots are relying on how we can set up the band in an interesting way within our performance space so that we can get as much out of each set at possible. 

third try 

first try 

 

the Carol Vernallis Theory

Carol Vernallis wrote a book called 'Experiencing Music Video; Aesthetics and Cultural Context'. In this book Carol compares music videos to Russian formalist film because she believes they are both are very limited media forms.

Russian formalist film had no sound and most of the population couldn't read so they couldn't do what the American movies did and add titles. They also had a lack of silver to create film and it was very expensive to produce. Because of these limited resources, this lead the industry towards expressive and experimental camera work/editing to make their films more stimulating and entertaining. 

Music videos are limited because:

• they have a short duration
• they have a mostly fixed soundtrack 
• they need to be dominated by performance and close ups 

Some videos such as 'Hey ya!' by OutKast don't have a fixed soundtrack which does add to the video. The video is like a performance onstage and swell as having a dialogued scene at the beginning, that added in dietetic screams and cheers from fans in the audience.

Expressive camera and editing within a music video provides visual variation and something that stands out against other similar videos. e.g. using fish eyes and light and colours to make the video distinctive. 

Link to our Treatment

As a group we made our treatment for our song 'Peach' on a joint Google Slides. Here is the link to view it. 

TREATMENT LINK  

discussing our treatment and idea with Matt

In our lesson today, Phill taught us what a Treatment is. In terms of a music video, a treatment is a document made mostly of pictures, by a director essentially pitching their idea for a music video. There will be a few words to describe an idea or an image but mostly images from the internet to visually show the artist and label what they are planning on doing. 

Phill showed us some good samples of professional treatments and we are now going to make one as a group for our video.

We then had a discussion with Matt about our video and spoke to him about the research we did into indie pop videos in relation to what we want to do. He understood our vision and explained to us it would be a lot of work especially with set and design. 

He made us realise we have a lot more to consider in terms of what footage we want to actually shoot. There is a lot of detail that will go into this video and we have to consider what will really set it apart and make it look as professional as possible. 

finding alternatives

 We had a look at the list of people who have various music and singing lessons in school and wrote names down to have a look at. 

for potential A2 leads we have:

• Max Wright (guitar as well)
• Joel Baine 
• Joey Brown 
• Luke Bedford 

drums:

• George Robertson

We also made a list of male singers in the year below:

• James Hadida
• tom Goss 
• Felix Wood 

Georgia typed up the lyrics to the song so that we could print them and give them to people to read while we screen test them and then give them to the singer to learn. 

During our lesson we screen tested Luke and it went really well. He grooved and moved with the music really well and has a great smile. He is expressive and not awkward in front of the camera which is key. 

At break I'm going to try and get hold and max and Joel to do a quick screen test.

At break I managed to get hold of max and Joey and got them to do a screen test.

JOEY:

Joey was very good, not awkward in front of the camera and really confident. Definitely a shoe in for the lead.

MAX:

Max was good, nice energy and again not awkward. However, he isn't really the right vibe for the video.

This is George who we want for the drums. he is really good which helps as there is no sheet music for the song so he has to improvise. He vibes with song song well and we think he will mesh with the rest fo the group. 

screen test

Today we did a screen test at school. Bashy, Leonie and Neave showed up.

Bashy, who we wanted for the lead was too awkward on screen to sing but is happy to play the guitar and said he would much more comfortable. He hasn't said yes to anyone else yet so he is ours if we want him. 

Leonie looks great on screen but she is in demand in the year group so is likely to be the lead in someone else's video over ours.

Neave looks great on drums, she isn't awkward and fits the vibe of the song amazingly. She is one of the only female drummers in our year so she will be in demand. 

we are going to re-group tomorrow and get some new names to screen test for all the parts in the band. 

Casting the main band

We confirmed some more casting today and definitely have our band available but we are going to screen test them first along with some extra people who we are considering.

We want Bashy to be our lead and he can play bass or guitar as well. He fits the vibe really well and can have a lot of fun with the song. He has confirmed that he knows he can only be in one video and is happy to be in ours which is good. 

Leonie is our idea for a guitarist. She fits the vibe and can be super smiley which is good. She also has a good connection with baby which gives the vibe that they are a pre-existing band rather than a group of random people. 

We think Neave would be a good candidate for our drummer. She has great personality and is super fun. She is great on the drums and would easily be able to play the song. She also gets along well with the other two and so a nice atmosphere would be able to come from this group.

Choosing a cast

Today we started looking at a cast for our music video. We have been trying to figure out what gender we want them to be as we have been back and forth between having an all male band or adding in females as well. We also have to consider who can play instruments and who fits the vibe of the song. We need a bass guitarist, a guitarist and a drummer. We have someone in mind for the lead singer and he can play guitar so that would be a good option for us. 

LEAD

• Jeremy Henderson 

GUITAR + LEAD 

• Bashy Slater, We think Bashy is the top contender for the lead singer and he could play the guitar as well as sing which would kill two birds with one stone. 
   

GUITAR

• Leonie Biney   
• Molly
• Max Wright
• Max 

BASS

• Ginebra Garcia
• Max Wright 

DRUMS 

• George Robertson 
• Neave Van't Riet 

FEMALE CHARACTER

• Connie Bowes 
• Fleur Melesi 
• Natty Wright
• Blue Rowland
• Mia Mocanu 

We had a look through the music videos from last year and videos that are similar to our to see who we could use. A couple of people stood out like max wright who we have now put on the list as a potential guitarist. 

looking at music videos and the industry with matt

Today we had a session in the editing suite with Matt. We had a talk about the music industry and about the differences between bands and solo artists. Matt gave us some facts and some opinions about the industry and where it's going.

He started by showing us Spotify's '50 most streamed artists of 2020'

It was evident through this list that solo artists are far more successful than bands and the bands that were still being streamed were mostly pretty old. This is due to many reasons such as:

• bands often split and the lead or a member of the band is pushed forward by the label as a solo artist
• if one person does something wrong in a band it's over for them, especially now with cancel culture
• bands are harder to create in the first place as you have to all be able to practice and perform at the same time and people are busy
• bands can be harder for record labels to sell
• they have to have a lot of personality and each of them have to be interesting or again, one of them will be pushed forward, for example, Beyonce leaving Destiny's Child

However, Where Bands do sell is at festivals, they make most of their revenue through live music. This happens because:

• Bands can create a fuller sound onstage where music artists, especially with synthesised tracks, can struggle and sound weak
• bands create a good atmosphere, connection and relationship onstage together
• live music is very enjoyable and bands often record music with a much more raw and untouched sound whereas lots of solo artists edit there voices and add loops and lots a reverb etc so can sound disappointing live in comparison to a band

We then had a look at different artist first music videos.

The first video we looked at was Dua Lipa's first video. Matt said that he felt she probably lacked personality and therefore the video leans into an utilises the fact that she looks like a model.

The video has around six sets within the whole video and each of them display her as fun, attractive, young and fashionable.

 

The video also has location shots which helps create an atmosphere and makes the artist/video seem more interesting. 

Another thing they do is have a contrast between light and dark shots which adds some depth to her character and personality, it makes her seem slightly less surface level basic.

The next artist we had a look at was Lady Gaga. She is full of personality and the video has a very different vibe to Dua's. 

Unlike with Dua Lipa, this video feels as if all of the engird stems from her rather than the set or costumes. Although there are multiple sets and stand out costumes, the video feels as if it wouldn't work for anyone but her. 

Although lots of the video is very over the top, it doesn't seem unnatural to her personality. 

She is very interesting to look at which builds interest around her. Although this is her first video it seems she has already figured out her style and aesthetic. 

research into indie pop videos

Today we split in our groups and each of us did some genre research. We all found two videos from the same genre as the one we want to make. So we each looked into  up and coming indie pop artists from 2016 upward. I had a look at Declan Mckenna and The Japanese House's first music videos.

Both their videos were quite different.

Here are some thumbnails I took from The Japanese House's video for 'Clean':

Most of their video was shot on location which isn't possible for us, however, I did like the colour gradient they used and the soften pink tinge to the video. 

I next had a look at Declan Mckenna video for Brazil. He had two videos for this song, one when he was really young that he made himself and then one after he was signed, So I had a look at both.

 

Here is a thumbnail from his very first video. I love the pop culture reference and the composition of this shot.

These last two screen grabs are from the second video he made.

After we had all collected our research we complied our images into word documents and then print them off and analysed them together. 

We went through and made lists of things like props, themes and colour tones that ran through each video.

After that, sorted through the videos and decided which ones were most like the ones we wanted to make and what were our favourite shots from each of these videos. We noticed a Wes Anderson style influence throughout the shots especially with the shots that placed the main character centre screen looking very symmetrical.

We thought close up shots are quite good because it is easier for the back ground to be more plain as well because we see less of it and they can look very stylised which is what we want.   

presenting our songs

We presented our final songs to Matt and the rest of our class today.  

Our final picks were 'Sunshine in our lives' by The Ib, 'Take it or leave it' by Kombat and 'Peach' by Ralfy. 

Matt was happy with all the choices and all the songs were underground enough for his filter. We haven't specifically chosen one yet but we are filtering them down based on what feedback was given.

PEACH

- the song has a clear voice with lots of personality which will help with the marketing of the song and coming up with ideas for shots.

- The song has a very young and lively vibe which is nice and is definitely cartable within school.

- We are already considering Bashy Slater as the singer for our video.

- There are lots of instruments in the song and therefore gives opportunity for a band and shots of the instruments etc which fills time. 

- The song has really low numbers with only 6,303 streams on Spotify and 315 views on YouTube which is great. 

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT 

- the song is classic indie rock which has a good sound and visualises well, could make a video that looks roughly how the band would look on stage, classic for this style of music.

- although the sound is rocky, the voice is very young and would be cartable within Hurtwood. 

- again we have band opportunities which is always good for extra shots and the song is fast which allows us to do faster cuts and shots which therefore don't have to be quite so detailed. 

- the views are the highest out of all the songs however matt said they are acceptable and just low enough. the song has 25,470 streams on Spotify and 9062 views on YouTube.

SUNSHINE IN OUR LIVES

- the song isn't as lively as the other two but there is still a clear voice and personality. This song does however seem like one that would be harder to market.

- the voice is young and cartable at school 

- the song carries a more emotional tone which can be slightly more difficult to market as the audience is smaller and slightly more specific, however, I feel teenagers of this generation do like an emotional song. The emotional tone will also carry through the images so they must be I interesting or it will be boring.

- the song has a melancholic snd meandering feel which isn't necessarily ideal.

- the song only has 2,616 streams on Spotify which is greta and 831 on YouTube.

Listening to our song choices

Today we were put into our production groups. I am with Georgia, Ben and Kai. We started out by agreeing that we wanted to make an artistic video that we all have input in and we want it to be stylistically interesting. 

We then started listening to each others songs beginning with Kai.

• Her first song was 'Drive By' by Cold California. This song was slightly country and a bit different, the song is slow however this means we have to cut less footage. We have potential casting ideas that would fit the role.
• The next song we rules out pretty fast, it was a deep house remix which didn't have a clear beat or an obvious voice throughout and we just couldn't think how it would practically work. 
• her last song was ..... this song was very lively and youthful. The video could feature a band which gives opportunity for more shots and details, we felt the voice was very cartable within our pool of choices at school. 

We next moved onto Ben,

• His first song was 'Aquarium' this was super up beat and youthful, we said it reminded us of a late 90s teen romcom. we think this could make a super fun video which was also be fun for us to film. Because it sounds so young and the vibe is pretty adolescent, we could definitely cast this at school.
• His second song 'Gone' wasn't as promising as the first song. It was very slow and sultry which could be interesting but we feared it could end up being boring and generic without us intending to because of the vibe the song gives off.
• song number four was 'Take it or leave it', the voice sounded slightly older than the other choice es but we felt we could still find a student who could pull off the voice. The song has more of a rocky vibe, it was very lively and sparked conversations about video ideas which is always promising. 
• 'Sunshine in our life' was the last of bens songs. This song was one of my personal favourites, it is slower than bens other ones but still young and full of life. we felt this song gave opportunities for close ups and interesting shot opportunities. we thought this could make a more aesthetic video and was cartable from our age group.

moving onto Georgia,

• We cut her first song 'Lips' straight away as we just didn't like the song
• 'Peach' was one of all of our favourites, He reminds me of Rex Orange County and has very few views which is nice. The song is very playful and gentle but upbeat at the same time. we felt for this video we could try and capture the essence of teenage life and the simplicity of it
• we cut the third song 'Questions' pretty fast because we thought it was basic and generic.
• Georgias last song 'Witch' was slightly more classical and grown up than the other songs, this means the voice might be slightly harder to cast from a younger group. However, the song was pretty fun and we could make quite a sweet video for it. 

choosing an artist/artist

Today we had our first lesson about our music video. We spoke about music artists and how to find them. Then we also discussed what makes them a good option for us with the access we have to students as actors etc. 

I did some research into some less known songs and artists to find some options for our video.

The first song I found was 'Faces' by Reuben Hollebon. He is a British singer-songwriter from Norfolk. His genre is Indie rock, he sings and plays most of the instruments in his songs. We would only need one person to be the singer, I don't think we would necessarily need a band and I think within our our casting pool, we could easily find someone who pulls off his voice. 

I Would quite like to do 'Comedown' by Joesef. I think he has a super interesting voice and one which would be easily cast with a Hurtwood student. I think this song is really cool and has potential for a really interesting video. He is an up and coming singer from Glasgow, Scotland. His music reminds me of Amy Winehouse and although he has a following, His music isn't widely known and I don't think many people would hear his voice and know who he was. You could potentially have musicians but I don't think they would be necessary. I think he has a slightly gender mbiguous voice, depending on the person I think we could potentially cast a female at the singer. 

For a band I would love to use the song 'Blood' by The Middle East. People may recognise the song however, the band aren't well known and I don't think anyone would question the singers. There is predominantly one male voice throughout the song and then a chorus join in about a third of the way through. I think we could make a really artistic video that captures the essence of youth and has a really lively feel. The Middle East are an indie folk band from Australia, Queensland. They aren't still active as a band although some of the members are still making music, they have split up over the years which means a current audience are less likely to know who they are. They are all pretty young and look early 20's their voices sound young also which mean the video is cartable with students. 

  

I wanted to chose a female song and I chose 'Hot & Heavy' by Lucy Dacus. This song is very new, only released a few months ago. Lucy has a beautiful youthful voice. She is 26 from Virginia, America. She is a singer/songwriter and has worked with more well known artist such as Phoebe Bridgers, I think there are many people at Hurtwood who would suit her voice. It is just one voice so we wouldn't need a band. She isn't widely known and I think this song is really light and fun and would be really interesting to film.