Production Log

In recent weeks I have been extremely busy with the production part of my coursework. I started off by holding a photoshoot in which I took pictures of myself to be used on my digipak front cover. I then went on to creating, and finishing the front and back covers of my digipak's first draft. I am however waiting to hold my actual video shoot to take the remaining photos that I need. Additionally, I have been working on my magazine advert on Photoshop and trying to make visual links between the two products.

I feel that I have defined the style of the artist by choosing what fonts and colour schemes will be present throughout my work. Furthermore, I have a day in mind this week for filming my video as I was unable to do so last week, due to the poor weather conditions. Although this was a risk that I took into consideration during my risk assessment that could halt the production of my video.

Production Log

Today I have carried on doing my album poster. I have added a picture to the background and also changed the font colour in order to make it more realistic and for easier to read for the audience. Additionally, the picture links very well to the lyrics as the singer is constantly repeating the lyrics of "gotta find somebody, I'll find somebody" and this has been represented in the picture by the rain drops which represent e 'sad' mood and by the nature which higlights he is looking out to find somebody new to fall in love with.

Production Log

Today I have decided to think about who my target audience is. This information will be gathered using my previous audience profile I have made. I am going to look into the way Alternative rock music influences their audience and who their audience is.

Production Log - Album Poster Draft

In today's lesson I have began drafting my album poster. I have decided on the layout I want to have however I did not have a picture to use yet so therefore that will be added later on. This shows the base of my album poster and it helps me figure out what else I want to add and what type of pictures. Furthermore, I believe I might end up changing the whole structure in order to make it more interesting and not look more like a movie poster.

Script

I have successfully completed my music video script and I believe this has helped me fully realise what I will be needing for my music video and the locations I need in order to film it. Having thought about it carefully I have decided to start with a Prologue and have the first few seconds of the video filmed in my house, where the protagonist is 'dreaming'. My second location will be Ruislip Lido as I wanted to have some nature around to make it look more unique and realistic, and I think Ruislip Lido is a great place to make this happen.

Additionally, there may be some scenes filmed in Hyde Park as I want to add some variance to my music video, however in order to do this I may need to gain some consent for me to be able to film in Hyde Park, so therefore according to how much time I have that decision will be made clear.

Shot List

This is a shot list of my music video. I have decided to include a Prologue as I wanted to make it more interesting and have a smooth instrumental start to the music video. Doing a shot list has helped me a lot, and I will be using it while filming in order to make sure I do not miss out any scenes or shots. Furthermore, I have also decided to repeat a few scenes, for example when the chorus is playing. I believe this will give my music video more of a structure.

Production Log

For the last few lessons I have been fully concentrating on finishing my storyboard. This is what i will use to guide me when doing my actual film shoot for my music video. I am very happy with the shots I have come up with, however i have no doubt that when actually filming my music video I will think of other creative shots and angles to experiment with.  An example of this can be depending on the weather, if it is raining I will be able to film some shots in the rain which will make my music video more interesting, and taking into account my music video will be a love story it will benefit the conventions of love music videos very well, as it has a sad mood involved. 

In order to create my storyboard I have taken A4 paper and for each shot I have drawn the scene. In order to make sure the shots i drew fit into my alternative rock genre I watched the actual video of "Kodaline - All I want (which is the song I'm using in my music video). After watching this I had inspiration about using slow motion in a lot of my shots, to make the video less jumpy and more smooth and graceful, unlike the genre of the music, however I wante to come up with something more unique as the song is very different too. 

While drawing my storyboard I also tried to listen to the song over and over again as it helped me gain a visual imagery of my music video. This allowed me to have a rough acknowledgment of how long each shot needs to be, and how far along in the song I was. 

Production Log - During my summer holidays

During my summer holidays I have been to visit many locations in which I could be filming my music video in. I took a trip to Hyde Park as there are some very good views, in which I believe would make my music video look very realistic.  Additionally, through my summer holidays I have also been gradually completing research tasks and doing as much research into different music videos as possible. Moreover, I wanted to go and see Kodaline perform live, however I could not make that idea become real as I did not manage to get the tickets in time.  Doing research tasks has given me some great knowledge on music videos, which benefits me when I film my own music video, as I have learnt some of the music video conventions and important features that need to be included.

Research into Kodaline

KODALINE (2)

I have decided to do some research into Kodaline, as it gives me a broad idea of what the band is about and their type of music videos they create. As I am using their song for my final music video it has given me an insight of what type of music video it needs to be and what the audience will be expecting from me. Moreover, it taught me that not all rock bands have loud and drums in their music video which means I can make my own music video look as unique as possible and surprise the audience.

Music Video Theory

I have done research into the music theorist Andrew Goodwin as it has helped me gain an insight into what I should be thinking about when creating my own music video.  Furthermore it has also given me a wide range of knowledge about what specific things the audience focuses on. This has helped me make those parts especially look very professional and attractive to the audience in order to succeed with my final music video. 

Research into Alternative Rock Music

  Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt rock or simply alternative) is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s. Most commonly associated in its heyday with a distorted guitar sound,transgressive lyrics and a nonchalant attitude, its original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style, or simply the independent, D.I.Y. ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music. At times, "alternative" has been used as a catch-all description for music from underground rock artists that receives mainstream recognition, or for any music, whether rock or not, that is seen to be descended from punk rock (including some examples of punk itself, as well as new wave, and post-punk).

Additionally there is also a radio station for Alternative Rock music which also has a website (http://www.last.fm/tag/alternative%20rock) and Alternative Rock fans are able to listen to their music non stop. I believe this helps engage more fans of Rock music into listening to rock and keeping up to date with all the upcoming new music and videos. Furthermore it is also an advantage for rock artists as they have their own music station where their songs can be constantly played. 

Research into a music video director - Alex James

Researching into a director of the song I will be using for my own music video was very beneficial as I gained a wide idea of what all his directing is about. I learnt why Alex James does those storylines and also learnt how he has built up into becoming a director. This has highlighted that doing a music video needs to look as professional as possible and sometimes it is not very hard to make that realistic.

Influences of music style

Having done some research into Rock music has helped me realise why rock music videos are filmed in a very unique way. Furthermore it also helped me understand that not all rock music or rock bands are very loud and use black as their main colour. Kodaline are a rock group however their music videos are very different. This means I am also able to film my music video in a unique way even though it has Rock music style influences.

Analysis of music videos

I decided to analyse Ed Sheeran's - The A Team video as I believe my own video will be very similar to this in the perspective of what the female artist experiences. This has helped me think about the ways in which my music video needs to be filmed and needs to look as professional as possible. Furthermore, having analysed this I now have a very clear idea of what my music video will look like and all the different effects and little story narratives I have to try and fit in. I received some audience feedback from reading my analysis and they were all positive such as "good analysis, clever ideas about how the director has done everything".

Research into existing music labels

A record label is a brand and/or a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Often, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks; coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos; conducts talent scouting and development of new artists and maintains contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information.

Atlantic Records: 

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz.

CEO: Craig KallmanFounded: 1947, Los Angeles, California, United StatesHeadquarters: New York City, NY, United States of AmericaFounders: Herb Abramson, Ahmet ErtegunAwards: Academy of Country Music Vocal Event of the YearNominations: Academy of Country Music Single Record of the Year,Academy of Country Music Album of the YearOver its first 20 years of operation Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most important American independent recording labels, specializing in jazz, R&B and soul recordings by African-American artists, a position greatly enhanced by its distribution deal with Stax Records.

In 1967 Atlantic became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, now the Warner Music Group, and expanded into rock and pop music, signing Cream, Led Zeppelin, Yes and Foreigner. In 2004 Atlantic Records and its sister label Elektra Records merged into Atlantic Records Group. Craig Kallman is currently Chairman of Atlantic Records. Label co-founder Ahmet Ertegün served as Founding Chairman until his death on December 14, 2006, at age 83. The label also has a number of deals with previously independent labels such as Must Destroy and VP Records.

Syco

Syco Entertainment, often known simply as Syco, is a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and marketing of music, television, film and digital content. It employs a staff of more than 50 in offices in London and Los Angeles and manages a string of high-profile television and music brands through partnerships with Sony Music labels and TV production partners, most notably FremantleMedia.

 Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment each own 50% of the business. Charles Garland, the former chief operator of Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment is Global CEO, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company. Retail billionaire Sir Philip Green, a close friend of Cowell, serves as an advisor to the company. Karren Brady, television personality and vice-chairman of West Ham United F.C., also serves as an advisor to the company.

Research into possible equipment choices

Equipment

This post will show what I will be using in order to create my music video. By doing this post it has helped me think about all the different ways I can make my video look as professional as possible. Furthermore I also received some audience feedback and asked about different types of programmes I should be using in order to make my final video look as realistic as possible, like other videos which are usually shown on MTV and 4 music channel.

Music Channels

Music channels are fully dedicated to music. There are different types of music channels, depeding on the music genre. For example ‘Kerrang’ music channel is purely dedicated to rock music, therefore will only play videos that are by rock artists. Where as ‘Smash Hits’ is more mainstream, pop music.  Music channels also include different interviews with different artists in order to keep the audience informed with the music industry. Music channels will often have programme schedules such as “Top 50 biggest tracks of the year” and so on. Some channels such as Kiss might also have things such as “Drake vs. Will I Am”, which allow audiences to feel as though they are involved in a competition, and will judge the artists for themselves. 

4 Music

4 Music is one of the music channels in the UK. It is the only channel where it has been given permission to be branded under Channel 4 and it is a very popular music channel in the UK. 

4 Music also has a online website (www.4music.com) where fans are able to register and receiver automatic updates about the music industry. This allows the audience and watchers to be more engaged and informed. 
                                                             

MTV 

MTV which originally stood for Music Television, is an American cable television channel based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981.
The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts. Today, MTV primarily broadcasts a variety of reality and scripted television programs targeted at adolescents and young adults.
It also has numerous sister channels in the U.S for example MTV DANCE, MTV ROCKS, MTV CLASSIC and so on. MTV is probably the largest most influencial music video, as it was the first channel to show the first ever music video – video killed the radio star by the buggles. 

The Box

The Box launched in April 1992 with true viewer control in mind.  Music video requests offered dual benefit: business income and brand relevance.  Over time, the channel became well known for its Box Fresh feature for new music videos. Indeed it was this feature that helped to launch The Spice Girls with their first hit, Wannabee. Additionally, The Box’s fame created an unusual trend where artists referenced the channel in their videos. SClub7 went so far as to create a special edition video aired only on The Box. Today, The Box exists as one of the longest running music channels on UK television. It is known for new music (albeit music that skews mainstream in taste). In fact recency has become its key differentiator.

And, whilst playlists are not genre specific, the schedule has come to include music orientated original programming as well as music videos.  For a time also – during the 1990s – a number of compilation albums were released, so extending the brand into the Top 40.

The Box boasts the freshest sounds in the pop, urban and indie scenes, showcasing established artists and featuring some of the finest new acts on the music scene.

                               

Production Log

At the moment I am having a bit of trouble understanding the Influences of music style and looking at how society at things which might influence my artist. I feel that it’s not clear what I am meant to research and not sure on how to approach the question. Being a rock culture it is very large and broad subject and I am finding it hard on how to put it down on word as it is so varied. I think I will have to go home and really think about the way to portray the rock culture and how it influences my chosen artist Kodaline.

Animatic

This is the animatic version of my storyboard with the actual song attached to it. I have completed this on Adobe Premier Pro which I found very easy to do as now I am used to it.

Pitch/Proposal for my idea

 

This is my proposal and final idea.

 

I have chosen to produce a music video to the song ‘All I Want’ by Kodaline. This song is mainly about somebody losing their lover and wanting them back again. The band wrote the song based on somebody they liked or their own experience. The lyrics ‘All I want is to see your face one more time’ suggests what the whole song is about.

Kodaline are a Alternative rock band  and their music is consistently changing throughout their career, from pop punk to rap mental. Kodaline, to which all their music videos tend to follow a similar nature theme, is a good soft rock song from their last album.

 

Storyboard

This is my storyboard which shows what each scene will be and the type of shot it will be filmed in. It has helped me massively as now when I decide to go and film I will take this with me and use it as my guide in order to be more planned and not mess anything up. My audience feedback I received on this is very positive and my friends think I have made a good effort to finish this.

Visual Progression and Image Systems

My video will include an intro which is the prologue however it is going to be a 'dream' which will be filmed in black and white. However as soon as the music kicks in it will be filmed in colour, this shows the progression through colour at the start of my video. Furthemore it will also include visual progression throughout  music as the music gets faster each time and another person will join the video. This is progression as from having one person it will then move up to two.

Moreover, visual progression will also be included when the model is putting make up on as she has more and more on each time and the camera will jump cut each time which will highlight the progression made in a clearer way.

Visual progression in my video will also be shown through setting. The start of my video will be filmed in a small room, however as the model opens the door and a close up of her hand on the door knob is shown, the door will then lead her to a big forest where model no. 2 will join the video.

Furthermore, at the end of the video model 1 will find the person she has been looking for as the lyrics say 'All I want is, and all I need is to find somebody'. This also shows visual progression as the video has progressed and there is a solution at the end of the video. Flashbacks will also be shown throughout the video, and this may include the model seeing something which reminds her of her ex, and there is a flashback shown of them two with that object.

In addition, there will also be a few image systems included in my video. One of them will be an image of the model's ex. Everytime this image is shown there will be a flashback shown of her with her ex and a memory.