Due to the faceless nature of our DJ's we needed to produce masks for our DJ's which would give the DJ's an individual identity and style. This involved Michael and myself spending a day buying the equipment in order to produce the masks as well as other equipment and props we would need for our shoot such as a black tie for Daniel. Meanwhile Daniel produced a performance shot list.
The first stage was to buy the equipment to make the masks. This involved journeying to a variety of different stored including a stationary store, a fancy dress store and a DIY store. To make the masks we used hockey mask from the fancy dress shop as a template, covered the entire mask in masking tape to allow them to have a matt paint look and so the paint would work on the masks. Also a see through black material was stuck to the inside of the eyes to prevent eyes being seen. However one eye of the red mask was to be left so the eye could be scene for a weird look.
The production of my mask involved using a sponge to paint the bottom of the mask blue to give a rippley look. Then I sprayed a black matt spray paint heavily onto the top of the mask so that it would drip onto the blue acrylic paint area. I then added some faint silver lines over the eyes.
The mask that Michael produced was created in a similar way to begin with using the masking tape. He then sprayed the entire mask black and allowed it to dry. He then used masking tape cut in styled shaped to cover areas of the mask and painted the entire mask red. After the paint dried he then removed the tape which gave an interesting effect.
This is the result of that hard work. Many people commented on which mask they preferred down to personal preference and there was a 50/ 50 split which was great for us. The fact that the masks created debate meant that this would probably happen for our artists in the real world.
We did a voice recording the initial feedback to our music video pitch from our teacher. She believed that there was need for a change in the the idea for the narrative and gave propositions to changes we could make to it. However the other parts of the proposal were on the right track. Here it what she said:
This is the final treatment that we will propose to the class and our teachers on Thursday:
1. The Track
The track we have chosen to use for our music video project, is the song Promises by Nero (Remixed by Skrillex). The song belongs to the genre of Dubstep, a genre that has only very recently become popular. Due to its contemporary nature, there is not a huge range of existing music videos, allowing us to be very creative in what we do and giving us a lot of opportunities, whilst still having enough content for us to draw inspiration from. The song is very electronic and drum/bass heavy, giving it a unique sound and making it great to edit to
2. The Music Video
The idea for the music video is split between performance and concept. The performance will focus on the band and creating an image and identity for them, whilst the concept will relate to the song and the idea of promises being broken.
The Peformance
This will take place in a clean white room, well lit, with pale white and blue light. The two DJ's will be raised on platforms, playing on their decks, whilst the lead singer remains on the floor.
The group will be dressed in black - the DJ's in smart, cool suits, whilst still wearing their masks and headphones, whilst the female lead singer wears a sexy black dress, with tied back hair and striking make up.
The performance will all take place in this room, with a lot of fast paced editing and camerawork.
The layout of Chase and Status's performances will be similar to ours
The Concept
The concept will put each of the band members in a different situation, each with their respective partners. The band members will be dressed exactly the same as they are in the performance, but in very normal situations, such as at a dinner table or in the back of a car. Each situation will present the relationship in a negative way, with the partners emotions changing from happy to angry as the video progresses, until the band members leave their situations, get picked up in a car, and drive away. The final shot we see is of the cars number plate, with the band logo stuck over it, as the car drives off.
This is to show to the audience that our music genre is a source of fun and escape in an otherwise undersirable situation, such as a relationship going to shit, with promises that are hard to keep.
3. The Artist Our artist is called !nflux.
Artist Name: Influx meaning an arrival or entry of large numbers of people or things. Chosen because it’s short, memorable, looks and sounds good. Has connotations of a gathering or massing of something, like a crowd or a build up on a song. It incorporates the X which is in the names of many dubstep artists.
In the band there will be three members - Female lead singer (Charley Packham), and two DJ's Red and Black (Adam Romo and Daniel Sheldon). The female lead singer will be the lead performer, whilst the DJ's identities remain anonymous, but their masks create a front. Overall, this creates a unique band identity, having enigma to create audience interest, but still having a strong identity to create a recognisable image.
The bands motif will be the headphones and the masks they wear, as the masks will have been personalised by them and will represent them in some way. They represent the club and rave scene, as they are a current band performing contemporary music, Dubstep/Drum and Bass.
The inspiration for the masks came from 'Hollywood Undead' who do a similar thing.
4.The Audience
We found that our audience could be categorised into 3 categories: Age, Gender and Genre.
Age: Our primary age group is 16-24 year olds because this is the age that has grown up with the discovery and developmentof dubstep. Also, this is the main age for becoming more independent and outgoing. Our secondary age group extends to 15-26, since this is really the limit for the age group where dubstep is popular. Also, you can get adults 30+ who still enjoy going to music festivals, concerts and clubbing, however this group is very niche.
Gender: Dubstep appeals to both males and females in our priamry audience, however in our secondary audiences mainly males are interested.
Genre: Of course, there are fans of the dubstep genre. Often, these fans like drum and bass as well due to the similarities in style and conventions of the genres.
Audience Demographics Profiles:
Name: Ben Kaye Age: 20 Gender: Male Occupation: University student in his second year - studying business management
Interests: He's an outgoing student, loves to go clubbing, partying and have a drink with his mates. He still thoroughly enjoys studying his degree course though. He regularly plays football for his university team and also goes to Powerleague to play football with his brothers and friends most weeks. Last summer, he went to Ayia Napa, a Greek "party" island, with his friends and felt an andrenaline rush when listening to DJs mixing dubstep and drum and bass tracks and dancing with and meeting girls. He particularly liked the music because the heavy beat and reverberations can be felt pulsing through your body, creating a euphoric and invincible sensation. He said that, "dubstep is like a legal high".
When I say dubstep, what do you think?
Chaos, craziness, colours, pure mental, clubs, an amazing time/night, strobe lights, drugs, alcohol & sex, current, RIGHT NOW! Subfocus, Magnetic Man, Skrillex, Ukf Bass Culture Concert
Name: Lauren Good Age: 17 Gender: Female Occupation: Year 13 at secondary school - studying art, english and politics for A levels Interests: Very confident, outgoing with a strong, tight-knit group of friends, both boys and girls. She regularly goes to salsa dancing and has a passion for photography. Last summer, she went to Malia for a week with her best friends and never wanted to leave. She said "boys, best friends and dubstep / dance music is the best combination. Perfect Summer!"
In order to appeal to our audience, we would market the artist and the music in the following way.
5. The Ancillary Tasks
For the ancillary tasks, we will make an cover for the debut album, and a website that will be the hub of the marketing campaign.
Album Cover: Will have a black and white theme. The front cover will be white with influx in black in the top left corner and a picture of the band in the bottom right corner. The picture will be a high angle and shot of the band with the female singer at the front and the two faceless DJs behind. It will have a very simplistic look and the band will look like they are coming from the light.
On the inside cover will be one of each the faceless DJ’s on each side against a black background with possible light sound levels that you would find on a DJ mixer behind them. They could either be standing with arms crossed or playing on decks.
On the back will be a beauty shot of the female singers face along with all the relevant song information etc against a white background. The inside covers will be each of the DJ's, either similar beauty shots, or long shots of them behind their decks.
Website: The website will follow the same black and white colour scheme. It will have a very simplistic and modern colour scheme with shots of the members of the band all over it. It will have a link bar with links to Home, News, Events, Music, Video and Store.
The Home will have our debut video and specific news. One idea we would like to implement in the website is a remix competition - any member of the audience will be able to download the individual parts of the track and create their own remix.
The winners remix, judged by the audience, will then make a place on the next album and the winner will be publicized and endorsed by the band. The website will have lots of social networking opportunities with commenting and Facebook and twitter incorporated wherever possible. YouTube and UKF dubstep links will be on every page.
6. The Practicalities
The music video could be shot in a few shoot days - 1 day for the performance and 2/3 for the narrative performances.
The performance would be ideally shot in the seward studio as it has the best lighting facilities available to us. The narrative could be shot in Daniel's car, in a quiet car park (like that found in Forty Hall), in one of our houses and at a quiet bus stop.
In terms of casting we would use 2 out of the 3 group (Daniel and Adam), and Charley as our female lead singer, all of whom worked on the music video project last year and understand how to perform and lip synch.
As for the narrative, we would like to use Josh Pedro and Lauren Good, actors we know to be reliable, and another actor we have yet to confirm.
Problems that could arise could be the weather, for some of the outdoor shots. Setting up the performance in the seward studio would require a lot of prior planning to ensure it goes smoothly and looks good. We would also need to rehearse to ensure the performers feel a comfortable as possible and perform as well as they can.
Artist Name: Influx meaning an arrival or entry of large numbers of people or things or an inflow of water into a river, lake, or the sea. Chosen because it’s short, memorable, looks and sounds good. Has connotations of a gathering or massing of something, like a crowd or a build up on a song. It incorporates the X which is in the names of many dubstep artists.
Album Cover: Will have a black and white theme which is very plain. The front cover will be white with influx in black in the top left corner and a picture of the band in the bottom right corner. The picture will be a high angle and shot of the band with the female singer at the front and the two faceless DJs behind. It will have a very simplistic look and the band will look like they are coming from the light.
On the inside cover will be one of each the faceless DJ’s on each side against a black background with possible light sound levels that you would find on a DJ mixer behind them. They could either be standing with arms crossed or playing on decks.
On the back will be a beauty shot of the female singers face along with all the relevant song information etc against a white background. For this we will take pictures in the next coming weeks.
Website: The website will follow the same black and white colour scheme. Once against it will have a very simplistic and modern colour scheme with shots of the members of the band all over it. It will have a link bar with links to Home, News, Events, Music, Video and Store.
The Home will have our debute video specific news such as a competition where people can download all the sound effects from of our artists songs and remix them, submitting them to the website. The audience judged winners remix will then make a place on the next album and the winner will be publicized and endorsed by the band. The website will have lots of social networking opportunities with commenting and Facebook and twitter incorporated wherever possible. YouTube and UKF dubstep links will be on every page.
This video by Modestep is great as a genre signifier. This is due to the fact that it clearly shows many of the aspects that make the dubstep genre what it is. Many people who are knowledgeable of the genre know that it's all about having a good time and dancing with a very personal and individual style. The video creates this atmosphere with stunning lighting and visual effects and using an idea as simple as the bands tour top promote the song.The bands tour is all about them having fun performing and the audience enjoying that performance and the video really displays this well. Much of the visual effects and grading etc. that are typical for the genre may be possible to mimic in our music video.
This video by Chase and Status displays a popular culture and the events from decades ago and makes them relateble to the current market/audience for the video which is 16-25 year olds showing that what happens now to that age range isn't so different from what it was back then in the 80's-90's. Once again the video shows a lot of people having fun and enjoying the music and event just like the Modestep video.
This video was inspiring because its use of strobing and new arty effects that are visually pleasing to an audience of the age range we wish to target our video at. It has very little structure however it is edited well to the music and a lot of contemporary techniques have been used in its production.
The narrative of this video is very well displayed in this video and it covers a contemporary issue which many dubstep videos do including many by Chase and Status. However what great about this video is it turns the issue on its head. The revenge of the girl on the paedophile is appealing to the audience who at the beginning of the video feel that its the girl in trouble. The visual style that then proceeds in exciting and very 'cool'.
Initial discussion on song choice with my group concluded in a very original song choice from the genre of dubstep and electronic dance. We decided we would pick a song from this genre as it is very contemporary and up to date with younger people and is becoming greatly popular in the UK. We decided we needed a song that we could put a band identity behind and needed and good song with lyrics in order to promote that artist and this is what we chose:
Promises- Nero (Skrillex Mix)
Lyrics:
You got me so wild,
How can I ever deny,
you got me so high,
so high I cannot feel the fire.
And you keep tellin’ me,
Telling me that you’ll be sweet,
And you’ll never want to leave my side,
As long as I don’t break the...
Promises, and they still feel o’ so wasted on myself (4x)
You got me so wild,
Why should I be so surprised?
You got me so high,
Don’t you see it in my eyes?
And you keep tellin’ me,
Telling me that you’ll be sweet,
And you’ll never want to leave my side,
As long as I don’t break the...
Promises, and they still feel o’ so wasted on myself (4x)
They are so wasted on myself (12x)
Promises, and they still feel o’ so wasted on myself (4x)
This is 'Pork and Beans' by Weezer which couldn't have more post modern intertextual references:
1. What makes this MV post-modern?
The entire video is a parody of successful and well known youtube videos that went viral. The video and song in this case is a rebellion against a majority of popular culture and 'doing the things that you want to do' rather than following the crowd to be 'cool' experimenting with the representation of reality and taking on a different view on the world. It puts across the idea that being different is a good think and not being taken hold by the hands of the media and thier institution. The use of utterly ridiculous youtube videos helps to show this as the self generated content of individuals who want to be different and try new things become internet sensations and if you have ever been on youtube you are sure to recognise many of the clips that have been parodied some of which with the original people in them. 2. Analyse intertextual references.
This video is full to the brim with intertextual references mainly from popular youtube clips many that people will recognise from thier use of the website. All the clip references in the video were viral and therefore well known and loved by much of the youtube community. Some of the youtube clips have been used to show that being different is fun, interesting and not necessarily a bad thing. For example the boy with the glasses and the microphone at centre left of the picture board below who is famous for singing his song 'Chocolate Rain' is different as he has a substantially low and bazaar singing voice and style. 'Numa Numa' at the very bottom right is known for his interpretation and miming of a famous Eastern European song in a funny and embarrassing manner on webcam and became famous for it. Furthermore the Ninja/karate man is known for his hilarious fail at the martial arts and the viewers laugh at this, despite being to bad he is content to continue his routine.
3. What impact do the intertextual references have on the audience?
They at first hand are used for humorous reasons and also to give the audience flashback moments making them say for example ' i remember that video, its so funny'. I then think many of the videos have been used to reflect the audience for what they really are meaning that we all have qualities that are different some of which people will think are weird and its not a bad thing to exploit these qualities as that is what makes us human. I think that is why the intertextual references have been used in backing up the message the lyrics promote.
The artist name will be situated somewhere on the front, generally quite easy to see.
The album name is usually next to the artist name but in smaller writing.
The focal pint is always around the center of the cover.
If the artist is on the cover of the album they are usually next to the name and very prominant.
The text on the cover is in a prominant and font that helps to brand the artist.
Albums without the artist on the cover will generally have a picture of the artist somewhere on the album and on the cover will be and arty picture with links to the artist some being very abstract.
Bar code and copyright information on the back.
Track names and sometimes time codes on the back cover.
Dates and companies/ record labels also on the back cover.
How can you catagorise the covers infront of you?
I would catagorise them into 2 main groups with then more specific groupings below them. One group would be artist on the cover with any style which could then be split into covers with artist in a photographic sense such as Sean Paul with some minipulation and then an absrtact or arty form of the artist such as the Bonkers and Calvin Harris albums.
The other catagory would be an art style that represents the album and artist which is generally abstrct setting an inticing scene to the viewer. That would then be split into the catagories of abstract, photography and people which can overlap. For example photography applies to the Bloc Party and Blur albums, abstract to the Bassment Jaxx and Oasis albums and people applies to the Muse, Nivana and Blink 182 albums.
What are the functions of album covers?
The main function of course is to market the album and artist through attracting and targeting the relevant audience. The main way the covers do this is through being different and prominant so they will stand out in record store shelve and people are going to be more curious about picking an album up if the cover is attractive or raises questions like 'why did the artist choose this cover?'.
This is Canadian band Billy Talent's first album named after the band.
Deconstruction
Images used: The layout is fairly simple as is the colour sheme for the front cover as is the back. The colours of red, cream and black on the front make it stand out especially with red being a dominant colour that will stand out on the shelves. They are a Canadian band so there may be a link between the colour scheme on the front and thier nation. The design shows the band walking towards the viewer away from a splat of some sort in the background that could be interpretaded as a hole or the sun and many other things raising questions from the audience. The colour scheme on the back is also simple of just orange, yellow and black which also helps to make the album stand out. The image is a highly saturated and colourised photograph of the band having a chat which advertises the band.
Text used: The font is the same throughout in terms of track names and band name which reflects the punky genre of the band which slightly off centre and twisted lettering which is very subtle. This bold and clear lettering helps the album to stand out and appeals to the right audience and is typical of a début album. The back and front covers of this above album and all their aspects help to advertise the album and artist and help to make it stand out on the shelf for a passer by to investigate.
Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director and has over two hundred music videos to his name. He has worked with many globally recognised artists from the likes of Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sum 41, Avril Lavigne and many more. Marc is some what of a superstar himself with multiple MTV awards and nominations throughout his career. He also directs and produces commercials for American TV advertising which have also brought him success.
I have picked two videos that he has produced to talk about:
I picked 'In too deep' by Sum 41 as I like both the song and the music video. The video is memorable because of its comic value that is typical of Sum 41 videos. Putting what look like nerdy punks against jocks in a diving competition makes for a great and funny narrative. The video puts forward that the underdogs are better to watch win and nerds fighting back against bully's. The atmosphere of the video is very American college pool party and all about having fun which creates aspiration for the audience to be there as part of the crowd.
The performance in my mind couldn't have taken place in a better location. There is irony song being called 'In too deep' and the performance taking place at the bottom of a dried out swimming pool with a crowd of adolescents encroaching around. It also makes for a great atmospheric feel with great weather also emitting a sense happiness and fun throughout. In terms of the dives the director couldn't have been more creative and hilarious at the same time which is a real selling point to the video. The video has an effect of no matter what mood your in it will still give you a lift.
I picked this video by Flo Rida mainly because of some of the incorporated lighting effects and also much of the dancing that takes place in the video. Although about a third of the shots are derived from the film Step Up 3 (the song being made for the film) the actual shots for the music video try to blend in. If you hadn't seen the film before then you may not know the shots are from the film. The lighting is consistent with a scanning white/blue plasma travelling across the screen throughout the video. When the pace of the music is slow there are fades in the editing and when the beat kicks in then it is cut to the beat which is a common music video technique which could be bought to mind when editing our own video.
Marc Klasfeld's work may help to give our group a good idea on how to produce our own video this a large variety of genres and artists videos to his name and consistently producing new and unique videos for world renowned artists. Our group I think can take a lot of inspiration from Marc's diverse work and possibly pick good parts to use in our video. For example some of the editing and effects can be taken into mind for our video that were used in the Flo Rida video as heavy use of lighting and colouration has been proposed as part of my groups initial idea.
Around year 6, when I was 12, I first heard this song and its a head-banger for sure. Its got rebellious immature teen written all over it! I picked Fat lip as at the time I was into the modern american punk rebel rock with artist such as Greenday making a name for themselves globally and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers releasing thier (in my opinion) best album Stadium Arcadium. I loved and still do love Sum 41 for thier comic and 'lets do something stupid for a laugh' music and music videos. Fat lip is my song from the past for its 'lets go absolutely mental' take on life.
Could listen forever...
Despite being older than Sum 41 as I matured I came to also love Brit Pop as well as many other genres of music. The sounds of Blur and Oasis have something unique and very British about them which is known globally. In this time I also became a fan of listening to embarrassingly long songs that if I played and people didn't like they would have to ride it out. Some people may listen to Beetlebum and think dreary but its one of those songs that grows on you. When I saw this song played at Glastonbury on the TV in 2008 I clocked a ridiculous amount of time with this on repeat. Sorry I'm sad.
Its only good if you turn it up!!!
Over the last few years I have discovered and come to adore electronic dance and bass music, loving all areas from house to trance, dubstep to drum and bass. I got more into this music through youtube and taking up opportunities to go to 16+ events and dance festivals such as LED festival in Victoria Park just a few months ago. I do like a good dance to be perfectly honest and anyone who doesn't is probably lying or hasn't lived. Less to do with lyrics and more to do with rhythm this music is best at full volume at a party. Strobe by Deadmau5 is an absolute banger, with a build up of a mere 6 minuets 48 seconds it can annoy the hell out of my parents as I insist on playing it loud. You make what you want of the music and I just love the synth atmospherics. Seeing this live was one of the coolest experiences of my life so far!
Modestep produce music in the dubstep genre which is a style of music that have become increasingly popular in younger audiences in the past 5 years. Branching from the genres of electro, club and DJ music it is determined by its heavy use of bass and build up to what is known as a 'drop' like the chorus to a pop song to some extent.
The impact is instant when watching the video, opening with a stunning young female getting up and answering the phone and with a highly saturated grade and arty lighting to help create eye candy for the viewer. The strong representation of the artist is shown through the grading lighting and style of lighting as well as the locations and the characters in them.
There is is a disregard for the rules of continuity in this video with man jump cuts for rhythmic effect and to pace the narrative to the music. An example of where the rule of continuity is broken is right at the beginning where the 180 degree rule is broken at the picking up of the mobile.
Like a majority of music videos there is repetition throughout the clip. The focus on the briefcase is continuous for the viewer and repeats for the three groups of people who it is given too and opened by. In terms of the performance at around halfway through the video clips of the performance in what looks like a club are shown and these clips become more predominant towards the end of the song as the audience a slowly brought into fully viewing the location of the performance.
The Wow-factor and visual pleasures are throughout the video. For example the comical office dance scene where the focus is on a middle aged man dancing in a sexual manor and this looks very out of place considering he is in a suit. This provokes a reaction from the audience. Also the scene with the dances is visually impressive and the wall flip provokes an impressed reaction from the audience.
This fairly recent music video has a predominant modern style with rebellious and youthful connotations throughout which reflect popular culture.
