Shooting Schedule

This shooting schedule is what the group and I use to let us know the dates of when we are shooting, the shots we will be shooting, what we need in terms of props, costumes and equipment and who we will be filming. This is what keeps us on track and get everything done in time and to a good standard because if we follow this schedule there will be no rush or confusions about shots, equipment or locations that we need to be in.

Storyboards

This is animation slide show of all of the storyboards the group and I have done. The reason why we have done storyboards is so that we have a rough guideline to go by when it comes to filming the shots for our music video. It also helps us put the video together as it shows the order of which we want the shots to be in. Since our initial plan we have changed a lot of shots such as the main character/vocalist walking through the forest and singing instead of just standing with the band.




Above is a storyboard animatic playing to the song that we will be filming to. This is to show what shots will be doing in a sequence and to show a clear description of what order we will be doing it in. The reason fir this animatic is to show us what order the shots will go in and it shows us a still image scroll of what our music video will be like. This helps us to get an idea of what the music video will be like and what order the shots will go in.

Teacher Assessment - 11/11/11

Talent Release Forms

I have written out this talent form so that me and my group can gain the permission of the other acts who will be in our music video. This had to be done so tha we can show that everyone in the video wants to be there and that we have there consent. This is now signed which means that we have the legal consent from the talent to use them in our music video.

Track Permission Letter

The reason for writing this letter is so that we get the consent from the record label, 'Sumerian Records', to use a song from one of the bands signed on their label. This is compulsory as we do not want anyone to think that we are claiming the song as our own so for legal reasons we need the labels permission to grant no copyright breaches.

Location Permission Letter

I had to write this letter so that the group and I could gain permission to shoot and film our music video in the locations that we would like to film in. If we failed to get permission then we would not be able to film in our desired locations meaning that our story board would have to be restructured and everything will need to be reconsidered.

CD Cover And Advert Designs

In this video and pictures you can see what we have been doing when designing our CD Covers. We have decided to keep to the stereotypical convention of metal by using dark images that portray harsh and sad meanings. This could involve some gore or silhouetted portraits of figures that would connect to this genre of music. To the left, the pictures involves some of the ideas that we had about the album digipak covers. The theme of the album may not only be about this one song but will portray what it is the album consists of, in this case violence, loneliness, separation and anger. The album cover consists of the visual imagery, the band name ('Aftermath Of Ignorance'), the album name ('Bonded By Blood'), song titles and some description of the songs and the band, etc...


The picture to the left shows us what our magazine advert will roughly look like once it has been completed. The use of the darkness and vague expression shows discomfort, loneliness, no emotion and eeriness. This portrays our genre well as it is a massive stereotype and  relates to a lot of lyrical assets from songs in this genre of music.

Location Shots

These pictures are slightly different from the locations that we will be using but they give an idea of what sort of scenery we will be using for our music video. We are going to be using some kind of forestry scene with lots of foliage around. This is a stereotypical scene/mise en-scene setting as a lot of bands from this genre choose to do their music videos in dark places. This is a suitable setting as the genre of our music is dark and can be relate to being lost and surrounded by nothing but feeling small and squashed in this space.

The band will be performing in this space of forestry which means that the backdrop for the band would typically be trees, foliage, greenery, etc... This backdrop helps us block out natural light meaning that the forest is naturally darker which again portrays the stereotypical darkness of our chosen genre. The forestry is also going to be the back drop for the narrative scenes we will be shooting. These scenes are not long but in the time we have for them the back drop will emphasise the loneliness, darkness and spatial separation that can be related to in the lyrics of this song that we have analysed.

Lists of Props, Costumes, Make-up and Equipment.

Above is an automatic slideshow showing the instruments that we will be using for our music video. We need these as the song we are doing relies on these instruments and also we need these instruments for our talent to play on during the video. We have access to all of these instruments and are sorting out transportation.



In the above slide show you can see the lit of stereotypical clothing that may be worn in this genre. We did this so that we could get a basic understanding of what clothing our musicians may wear in the music video. This also helps us choose a background as if the background scenery is too dark then it will be harder to see the musicians and characters in the narrative.



In this slide show you can see the basic equipment that the group and I will be using to film and edit our music video to make it the best it can be using our abilities and skills. We researched our equipment as we needed to know what we was going to be using and find out how we could use it. This has helped us improve our shots and the quality of the video we will be making.

Image Annotation

Due to the genre we have chosen the clothing we will be wearing will be very dark and will portray the feeling of sadness and loneliness. The darkness of the clothing will strongly represent the genre of music meaning that the viewers will relate to the song and the image a lot more because they connect and emphasise the meaning of the lyrics and feeling. The bones in these specific pictures of clothing represent death which is also a harsh annotation of darkness. This may create an uncomfortable atmosphere for the viewer yet still push the emphasise on the meaning, feeling of the genre, the music and the imagery.

Another typical convention of our genre in terms of imagery is the accessories that people wear. This can vary from piercings, tattoos, jewellery, belts, hats or some kind of make up. All of these accessories will relate to darkness as this is a very important and main feature of this genre of music. Also, different people would wear different pieces of clothing and accessories to stand out and be independent.

Concept

The concept of this video is the lead vocalist playing a character in a narrative of someone who doesn't want a female companion because of the fact that he thinks that he is too dangerous for her but he can't get her out of his head. The lyrics would suggest that he has dumped him and through anger wants her to go away but deep inside really wanting her back, but between the lines another narrative begins to arise. This narrative is one that involves a disturbed male who believes that he is not stable or good enough for the female that we believe, as a group, is after him. He is doing this because he does not want to hurt her and is not willing to harm her because of his actions and instability.

Another slight variation to this narrative could be that the female does not want this male but he wants her and because of this she is stuck within his thoughts. He keeps telling her to get our of his mind because he knows he can not have her due to his instability and that because his mind is set on her he is outside his original mind and looking back at himself. These lyrics support this suggestion; 'I Need To Find, A Way Back Inside My Mind'. We have some suggestions on what we may do in term of cinematography and mise en-scene to support these narrative ideas. Both of these ideas fit our genre perfectly as the mood is very dark and portrays the severe depressive mood intensively.

Lyric Annotation

Lyrics | Breathless lyrics

The lyrics in this songs is based around the concept of love. A man does not think that he is good enough for a girl so he tells her to leave him and find someone better.

Assessment 10/10/11 TME

Check the Written Assessment Feedback sheet which was given to you.

Technical Tutorials - Photoshops

To create these digipak covers we had to use Photoshop to get the correct size and effects that we desire. The effects we used were a dark tint to exaggerate the genre and the feel of the music and we also placed the picture of me against a black background to re-create the effect of me standing in the midsts of nothing and giving the effect that there is no emotion or atmospheric clarity surrounding me.

                           

Song Details

Song: Breathless
Artist: Asking Alexandria
Label: Sumerian Records

The reason we chose this song is because it suits our genre perfectly and the ideas that we have created fit this song well. The genre of Metalcore is suitable as it portrays darkness, sadness and the reality of pure subdued emotion between one soul and another. It has a meaning that can be misread unless you see between the lines which has given us the perfect opportunity to release this message via visual imagery.

Technical Tutorials

In this Jing video I explain how to Render a video clip in 'Final Cut Express'. You have to render the clip so that you are able to se the clip being played itself. IF you did not render you would not be able to synch the clips to the soundtrack as you would not be able to see what it is you are doing.

In this technical tutorial I have learned how to use Jing and set up accounts for Jing and Screencast.com. During these tutorials I have also learned how to use the green screen and then pack it all away with the help of classmates. Also I have learned in more depth about how to use 'Final Cut Express' and what it is I need to do to replace the green xcreen background in the video clip. \this is helpful as me and the group may use this green screen to record our music video more shots in places that we will not be able to reach or get too.

The camera shots used in this were effective as we had three cameras set up and this meant that we were able to get three camera shots from three different angles and of the same person or object. Also because they were all recroding at the same time it was easy to synch them together and cut and edit them in 'Final Cut Express' for effective shots and effective timeline for the music video.

Initial Ideas

During the group discussions of what song we would want to do and by what artist we did not come to a conclusion but we have come up with some iudeas of bands that may be of interest to us. For example bands such as 'Bring Me The Horizon', 'All That Remains', 'August Burns Red' and also the band i am in 'Infinatly Damned'. It would be bands like these that we would want to think of doing as our music video as they cover our genre perfectly. We will be adding some narrative to our music video to emphasise meaning of the song and the lyrics. We will also be including shots of the band performing the song as well as a narrative.

We have decided to use these ideas as they are stereotypical convention of this genre. Although we will be applying the conventions of this genre to our music video we will also be trying to challenge it by changing scenery and shots that maybe you would not expect to see in a music video from a band of this genre. This would challenge the audience mind and hopefully make the narratives clarity clearer. Also so using an unorthodox narrative we might be able to give a different feel to the song or even get more attention on the song rather than the video itself.

Roles

I will be part of the band in this music video as I play drums and I am already in a band. I will also be filming some of the narrative scenes as I will not be in the frame of these shots so my help will be needed on the camera. During the band shots I will be seated behind the kit playing along to the track and making sure that I have some sort of camera and stage presence. This would mean that I have to be able to go into character as the drummer for the band that we will be playing as This would be hard as I will have to step into the shoes of a world famous drummer in a high classed, high status band. This is only if I am unable to place my band material into the picture. For example, if our recording doe not go to plan or we as a group want to change the band we perform. If my band material is used then I will have to play as myself as if I am playing live in front of thousands of people, or "Play As If Each Beat And Each Stroke Is My Last" in the words of 'Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith.



Elenya will be in charge of the photography of the band. She will be taking the photos for the adverts and the album covers. Elenya will also choose where she wants to take the photos so she is in charge of the mise en-scene for the pictures and also how she wants the band to be positioned. This means she ill have to take into account the lighting, the background material and spacing of each still image camera shot.






Tre will be in charge of editing and camera shots. This means he will be filming the band performing and that he will use his knowledge of cinematography to create effective shots that emphasise the genre of music or the unorthodox meaning behind the song. What Tre will also have to do is edit the whole piece together. This means he will have to get the lip synchronisation in time, make sure all the shots flow freely, and that the order of the shots and the song make sense and connect.

Peer Assessment

I had my work evaluated by Jordan F. and Daniel D. The pictures above state what they said about my work and efforts. Both of them think that I have put a lot of effort in and that i have approached the tasks well. They also think that my use of visual material such as pictures and videos are good and help to vasry the text and blog posts.

Assessement TME 24/09/11

Dan,  
WWW: Good analysis of the Heavy Metal music videos (Genre research 2). Some excellent points made. Well done.

You've also improved many of your blog entries and it looks like you've taken some time over the analysis, I particularly like your entry on the conventions of a heavy metal video.  Always try to include some visual material in every single blog entry.  

EBI - you need to include analysis of the magazine adverts you have found. These should include specific examples from within the advert. Think about how the target audience is being attracted by the makers of the advert through the use of specific mise-en-scene and camera shots.

You need to include analysis of the audience feedback. It should be possible to generate a chart through the google forms page. And then give a brief summary of what your sample said about the genre of music. What was the most prevalent tastes etc. Will you include these preferences in your own music video? 

You need to complete the Record Label post. Remember to keep this in your own words. Brief history is fine, but make sure you mention the other artists/genre of music they promote.

Although the entry on the CD covers is good for the first two covers with some good analysis, the third cover is not complete.

You have got some notes written for the theories, but you need to include visual material.

GRADE - IN

Audience Research One

 

I did this questionairre so that I could get an idea of what people listened to and what they liked in music videos. I asked them about their age and their opinions on the music they listen to and also what they want to see in the bands they like and their music videos. This would help me to do my music video and gave me an idea of what people would want in a music video from the genre I have chosen to do.

Audience Research Two

 This chart shows us that half of the people who answered the questions on my survey were male and the other half were female. This means that the genre of Rock/Metal is a genre for mixed genders and is not specifically gender orientated.

 This information shows us the information on how these people listen to their music. The majority of these people use online video or sound sources. This shows us that the internet is a growing venue for musical storage and access. The next two popular sources of access are Radios and buying the bands album first hand.

 This graph shows us what people like to see in there music video and what makes the videos interesting. Everyone who answered liked seeing the band members and their instruments performing in the video.

This graph portrays to us on how people share their music in their social groups. Half of these people use CD's or other media of that sort to share the music they enjoy and also internet, text message and face-to-face are popular.

Advertisement Research

This advertisement for 'Lost Alone' is a prime example of an advert that challenges the stereotypical conventions of a rock/metal album advertisement in a magazine or newspaper. It challenges these conventions because of the brightness of it compared to a variety of other adverts thata can be found. It consists of a greay blue colour that is tinted over the whole advert with the vivid blues and greens of the earth behind it. Also this adverts has a lot more writting on it so the reader has to take time to read this to get information that they might need whereas the usual convention would be that important information is short and clearly shown on the page. On the other hand; there are some conventions that have been kept. For example; the band name is in big letters and the information such as record, shop and band logos are clearly shown.

This advert is a good example of a stereotypical rock/metal advert. For example; this advert is showing the whole band round a table with the vocalist standing up and in a dark, dingy room. The fact that you can see the band shows the reader who the band are they so it helps them to recognise that the album is by this band, also like a majority of other band adverts the vocalist is the main focus as he is the frontman of the band. This is also typical to see on a live stage and album covers. Also on the adcvert the important information is clearly shown. We can see this as all of the information is in big writting and is easily visible on the page. The album cover has also been clearly placed on this advert do that when people go out to buy the album they know what it looks like so that they can see it and recognise the album instantly. The shop information and logo are also stated at the bottom so that they readers also know where to gert the album from so that they don't have to travel from one shop to another looking for the album.

This album advert is between the other two adverts above in terms of conventions only these conventions are more noticable. For example like the first album advert there are bright colours, in this case the colours are bright white as the majority of the advert is this colour. This contrast the darkenss of the band clothing and the darker background behind them meaning that the advert stands out more and draws people in to view this advert. Also like the second advert the vocalist is the main focus as he is standing in front of the other band members so that the first person we are most likely to see on this advert is the front man. On the other hand, this pictures are of close ups of the band so you can only see their face, this means you can not clearly see where it is they are standing. Also like the second advert the details of the album and where you can buy it is clearly stated and easy to read as the colour of the writting also contrasts the white background of the adverts.

Record Label Research

'Roadrunner Records' is one of the most knowledgeable and well known label for my genre of music. They started off as 'Roadracer Records' out in the Netherlands back in 1980. Their main aim was to get North American recorded metal bands out into the music industry in Europe. in 1986 they opened offices in New York and in years to come they began opening more offices around the world in places such as United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France, Japan and their latest one in Canada.  They have signed artists and bands such as Alter Bridge, Alexisonfire, Biffy Clyro, Korn, Slash, Slipknot, Black Stone Cherry, Airbourne, DevilDriver, Killswitch Engage, DragonForce, Dream Theater, Funeral For A Friend, Lamb Of God, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lenny Kravitz, Machine Head, Opeth and many more. They are known between bands to be able to boost their popularity and get them to rise up into the music industry fairly quickly. It is this popularity that has put them at the level they are at.

'Epitaph Records' records is an independent record label which was founded by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. He did this so that he could release albums from his band. The first album to be released on this label was Bad Religion's self-titled EP in 1981 also followed by their debut album 'How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'. The label is located in Hollywood, California. The label signs bands from genres such as punk rock, hardcore punk, pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, alternative rock, alternative hip hop and grindcore. There artists include bands such as Alesana, Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, Big Talk, Bring Me The Horizon, The Colour Of Violence, Converge, Dangerous!, Every Time I Die, Falling In Reverse, Farewell, Frank Turner, Frenzal Rhomb, Heartsounds, I Set My Friends on Fire, Leathermouth, Letlive, The Menzingers, New Found Glory, Off With Their Heads, Our Last Night, Parkway Drive, Social Distortion, Story Of The Year, Weezer and many more...


'Geffen Records' is an American record label founded by David Geffen in 1980 who already had music business knowledge after founding 'Asylum Records'. Geffen records is located in Santa Monica in California. Artists and bands signed to this label include bands such as 10,000 Maniacs, Aerosmith, Alien Ant Farm, Angels and Airwaves, Blink 182, Bloodhound Gang, Bill Crosby, Cowboy Junkies, The Cure, The Eagles, Guns N' Roses, Garbage, B.B. King, John Lennon, Lifehouse, Limp Bizkit, Nirvana, Papa Roach, Puddle Of Mudd, Rise Against, Slash, Snow Patrol, Sonic Youth, The Stone Roses, Tesla, Whitesnake, White Zombie, Neil Young, Rob Zombie and many more...

Genre Research - Conventions Of A Music Video Of My Genre

- One main stereotypical factor of rock/metal is the darkness associated with this genre of music. This is portrayed in the bands lyrics, clothing, music videos, CD covers, tattoos, their living styles, how they talk and also the instrument brands that they play. For example, if their is a large drum kit with lots of cymbals and toms then it would normally be associated with heavy metal.

- Another stereotypical convention of a rock/metal music video is the fast paced shots in the video. The fast paced shots help to connect with the song because the song is most probably at a fast tempo so the video will relate with the song more.

- Hand gestures and certain movements are also a usual convention. For example; in a lot of music videos you have the band members head banging, in power stance, the hand gesture of rock and the audience in live videos are head banging, mosh pitting, same hand gestures, waving lighters at any slower songs and wall of death. You only see the audience when in a live situation but in 'Duality' by Slipknot an audience of fans had been invited for the video.


- Eye contact and primary focus on the vocalist or member with lead role in section being played. For example; the majority of the time the main member focus will be on the vocalist as he or she is the main front member delivering the energy and the song to the audience or viewer. On the other hand; during a guitar solo the main focus will turn to the guitarist until the solo has finished. This also relates to any riff or intro/ending that the guitarist or other member will play.

CD Cover Research

"Parkway Drive" - June 2010 -
'Resist Records', 'Epitaph', 'Burning Heart'

This CD cover is suitable for our genre of music as its conventions are stereotypical and can be seen in a variety of other CD covers. The use of the darkness and the deep blue colour portrays the fact that this album is dark and it's content on the CD will not be connected with happiness. The brightness in the distance could tell us that some of the songs on the album may be about looking out into the bright horizon but knowing that they are stuck in the darkness above the water beneath them. The writing is also important and the fact that the album title is in bold and white stands out and is a comparison to the dark background. This could be because they want the audience to remember the album title and the complicated writing style of the band name is instantly noticeable and could show us that the band is an advanced band and there is nothing simplistic about them.

"Alter Bridge" - October 2007
"Universal Republic Records"

This CD cover is of a different genre from the 'Parkway Drive' cover as this is more hard rock than metalcore. Although there is this difference between genres both of the albums have similarities. For example; both CD covers are dark and their band name and album title stand out. On this particular CD cover the album ('Blackbird') has been represented by a rough and abstract figure of a blackbird. This helps the audience visualise the album making it easier for people to recognise and remember. Also the positioning of the band name and the picture of the blackbird makes it look like the blackbird is attacking or about to grab the band name on the cover. On the other hand; it looks like that the sides of the CD cover are caving in on the bird therefore it is trying to escape the darkness which is a similarity that can relate to the previous CD cover.

"Black Stone Cherry" - August 2008
"Roadrunner Records"

This CD cover is another prime example of a cover that uses the
stereotypical conventions of a rock/metal music genre. In this case the cover has an image of the whole band on it, each in possession of their instruments so that the audience knows who is playing what instrument on the album. Like the other CD covers the there is the element of darkness within this image as the band are in the middle of a forest which can be related to the darkness and eeriness of this genre. Also the connection of sadness can has been portrayed on the faces of the band, their vacant expression tell the audience of what is to be on the album. The band name is yet again extremely clear and massive letters. This time instead of being on the bottom of the CD cover it is above the band members, this is what is telling the audience about the band and who the band members are.

Genre Analysis - Papa Roach - "Hollywood Whore"

Cinematography

This music video keeps to the stereotypical conventions of a Rock/Metal music video as it uses a lot of dark colours including black which you would usually relate to sadness in this genre of music. Also the colour theme of this music video suits the lyrics, this can be related by the second line in the song 'Passed Out On The Floor', this line in itself automatically links to the theme of darkness and sadness. As like a majority other music videos in this genre the main focus is the band and the instruments they are playing. This means that this band have kept to the conventions of music videos for this genre so they have played the game safe so that maybe they wouldn't confuse their audience with a dramatic change or that the fact that there is no other theme that would support the meaning of the lyrics and the song.


Mise En-Scene
The superior focus is on the band and the instruments that they are playing. The use of the guitars, drums and the microphone tell the viewers what instruments are being used and what is playing what part. This could help the audience relate to the song more as if they play an instrument for this genre of music they can focus on what there instrumentalist is playing and how they are playing it. Also the use of the woman at the end with the blood spraying at the band is a harsh visual effect as it portraying pain and sorrow. This effect may also link to the lyrics when the say 'I'm Sorry But The Party Is Over', the 'Party' could relate to this female's life and now that she has died the party is over. The use of the word 'Whore' could mean that this woman was an active woman with other men and also show us that the band have used a word in such a state meaning that they are very forward about the topic which can also be related to this type of genre.


Sound
The sound clarity in this music video is clear like many other music videos of this genre. This also shows us that the recording has been done professionally meaning that the band have the money to record this in a high tech studie. On the other hand; there are also parts of this song that aren't what we would usually relate to singing as at the end of the song the vocalist begins shouting and may suggest to the viewers that he is taking out his anger through this emotional vocal projection.


Editing
Every clip in this video has been smoothly synchronised together as there are no gaps or glitches within the music video. This portrays the fact that the band have had the money to take there time with editing the music video so that they can perfect it and make it to the best standard possible. Another editing feature that has been completed successfully is the fact that all the beast and lip synchs are in time so that the video looks as if it has been played live and that there are not a lot of shot layered on to each other to get all the different angles.