Update on Characters

A little video that explains some changes to my music video

Update on Coursework

I've explained why I've took a Hiatus on my blog, I've been busy with the music video, it was very time consuming but I think I've learned how to manage my time even better and that there should be a split between the video and the blog.

Importance of Location

Trailer for the film "In Love with Alma Cogan"



The majority of my music video was shot in Cromer. During that time, a local film called "In Love with Alma Cogan was due for release. The whole film was shot in Cromer. It shows how locations are important because the film show location signifier such as the Cromer Pier, in which the film is mostly based on.

I think that it was important for me to have shot the video in Cromer for a variety of reasons, the way I've narratively structured my video, I've included flashbacks, which are of course the lighter side of moments when the characters were still in the happiest parts of their relationship and that it felt as if nothing could ruin their relationship.

What would Michel Maffesoli say about Music Festivals

Michel Mafesolli views about Music Festicals are that there has been a proliferation in youths refusing to knuckle under and conform to respective social groups and instead conforming to alternative social groups. In the present time, social groups are now less defines, blurred and yet still distinct. This is expressed through the clothing that people wear, such as high street clothing brands e.g. Topshop, superdry etc.

First edit of Music Video

(sorry for the bad audio quality)


This is the first edit of my music video "You Are Everywhere"  have only started editing this week (beginning 22/10/2012) and as I have said in my planing, the video will be in both Colour and Black and white, kind of like Straus's theory that opposite colours would intense the mise-en-scene. When my editing progressess my original planning wouldn't possibly go according to plan, which means that the final cut  would be different to what I had originally planned. I would include an increased variety of camera shots and angles, than my Thriller Film, but would still consist mostly of close-up shots.

Shooting Schedule

For my music video, I have filmed three times, on two different locations.

First Shoot - Cromer 17/09/2012
We have filmed for 5 hours and have gathered 19 minutes worth of footage. The footage that I have gathered consists mostly close-ups of Kirsty singing the whole song, but witht he feedback gained from my lecturers that the footage that I have got are too steady, meanign I would re-shoot again, use a variety of camera shots and angles. There are also tracking shots of Billie and Kirsty (actressess who are starring in the video) and the the footage gathered would be good enough to be included in the final cut.

The raw footage of my filming in Cromer can be found right here.

Second Shoot - Chapelfield Gardens 08/10/2012
We've have had constraints on our filming, as I have mentioned in my previous post, the location I have used didn't have a smooth surface, which would therefore mean that whatever footage I have gathered wouldn't be in the final cut, and would decrease the amount of time I would have for editing. I was able to gather 5 minutes worth of footage, which I think would have potential to be included in the final cut.

Third Shoot - Norwich City Centre - 29/10/2012
We went around Norwich City Centre, and I took shots of Kirsty and Billie walking about, as a couple in the video they showed their "Publis Display of Affection (PDA)" when they were walking about in the shops within Gentlemen's Walk and Chapelfield Shopping Centre.

I have filmed three times, all shoots have been a learning curve for me, which would then help me improve on what I would need to do in the next shoot in order to gather a better footage.

Filming Equipment Used

For the project this year, I am using a variety of equipment, in order to improve the quality if the music video. I have definitely used tripod from my Thriller "Come Walk with Me"  and, I am going to use it agian during the use of the Close-Up Shots, which is very important because the use of close-up shots is in place, in order to promote the artist. I have used a Dolly, the second time I have filmed, but had a problem. We didn't film on smooth surface and therefore the shots I have got were just steady. I would be filming again next week (week beginning 22nd October, which is the deadline for shooting) and I would mainly use a tripod for the High and Low Angle shots, which i think would improve how the finished product would look like.

I have used a different camera for filming this year (will post a picture later) the quality of the footage was very clear, but had to convert it, in order to be able to use the footage, with the Sixth Form's editing software.

Problems with Filming

Today (08/10/2012) I have tried to film some more footage for my music video. I have listened to advise from my lecturers that I had my actressess walking, therefore I used a Dolly. I encountered a problem that the surfaces in Chapelfield Gardens weren't good enough, it therefore produced shaky footage, which would therefore mean, I am unable to use the footage I filmed. The video above is an example of what I just mentioned above.

Update on Planning

Little video from my iPad on how the progress of my music video is going.

Actors and Actressess

The actresses I have chosen to act in my music video are:

Timothy John Jumawan

Kirsty Swift

Billie Kemp

The reason I have chosen these two actresses to star in my music video is because I have had a good working relationship with both of them, with the success of my AS Thriller Opening "Come Walk with Me". Kirsty and Billie are really good friends, and one way this could be a benefit for my music video, is because the song is about loss, it could be a loss of Friendship. I'm still currently filming (as of 03/10/2012) my music video, so the narrative structure could still change.

Reading Consumer's Style

Me and Jack Monahan have looked at reading consumer's we started looking at these 3 character's psychographic (something that can't be measurable e.g. where consumer's shop for their clothing etc.) We looked at how each aspect of their style shows what their opinion is of life in general .

Raw Footage

This is the first raw footage of my music video. It has a total of 19 mins. I have consistedly used close up shots, as advised by both of my teachers, and I will film once again to use a variety of camera shots and angles, in order to have more choice, during editing.

Storyboard - First Draft!

This is the first draft of my storyboard, I am not really an artist so sorry for the bad drawings. This is from the initial planning I have started since July, and the narrative and shots used as the year progresses would change.

Consumer Profile

Here is a video of me talking about who is my target audience for my music video talking about demographics. I've also talked about the psychographics of my consumers and I think it is important I have included that because I need to make sure that  my audience would interact very well with my music video, because they could relate to them in some sense.

What are the connotations, ideologies and target audience of Latitude Festival?

Latitude Festival currently targets a variety of audiences from teenagers aged 13-19 Years old and also young adults aged 20-25 years old.

My annotation of the home page of  the Latitude website and the poster of the acts performing and how they have designed their layout to get the attention of the audiences.

Textual Storyboard

1. Tracking Shot of a train journey travelling through wheatfields at daytime. The effect used at this shots would include changing the brightness to show that the journey being taken isn't a happy one.
2. Close-Up Shot of Kirsty singing the first line of Verse 1 in a black and white with a Cross Dissolve transition to colour.
3. Tracking Shot of Billie and Kirsty walking around Cromer Pier in Colour and the scene then transitions to Black and white
4. Close Up Shot of Kirsty singing the bridge in a beach scenery in Black and White which then transitions into
5. Long Shot of Kirsty in the beach with no one else around her, in order to show  her isolation from the world and how  run down she is.
6. Close Up Shot of Kirsty with another man in black and white, walking around chapelfield gardens. Which shows she has moved on from her past relationship but the scene shows how she's still in the past and is not happy, an example of this would be the music video Broken Arrow by Pixie Lott which shows she tries to move on but she still loves the person she was with and can't move on, which is what I'm trying to portray mostly in this video. The video then cross dissolves to Colour back to Cromer Beach.
7. Close Up Shot of Billie and Kirsty holding hands on the beach  in Colour which then transitions to a
8. Tracking Shot of  Kirsty and Billie running around at the beach in Colour to show theeir happiness when they're together. The scene then Cross Dissolves into Black and White
9. Close Up Shot of Kirsty singing the Bridge and Chorus in a different scenery in Black and White, which transitions into a
10. Tracking Close Up Shot of Kirsty singing the last line of the song, and then meets up with the man, earlier on from the music video, looking happy, because its what they both would've wante dto do, to move on.

Camera Shots, Angles and Effects Being Planned to use for "You Are Everywhere"

Shots

• Tracking - Used to an extent
• Tilt
• Close Up - Filmed the whole song in one location with just this shot.
• Long - Used to an extent
• Tracking - Used to ane xtent

Angles

• High
• Low

Effects

• Split Screen - I got the idea from past students, and also other music video's such as Plaine White T's "Hey There Delilah"
• Cross Dissolves - I've used Cross Dissolves at my Thriller Film, to show transition
• Dip To Black
• Black and White

Still Shots of Shooting of "You Are Everywhere" at Cromer Beach

Why has been an in crease in the amount of Music Festivals in the UK?

The proliferation of music festivals in the country has increased. The majority of these festivals have the use of mainstream artists e.g. Ne-Yo, Jessie J etc. Another reason behind the increase is because of the interest of other music festivals for other music genres such as Acoustic or Folk, which could target niche audiences, which in turn could show diversification of festivals, to keep up with the demand of consumer's lifestyle. With the increase of technology being available, creating the festival could be lowered and much easier to plan.

Other Locations for "You are Everywhere"

Shot List

1.   Tracking Shot – Shot of the journey of the train going to Cromer, train have the view of fields.
2. Close Up Shot – of Kirsty inside the train singing the First verse
3. Longt Shot -of Kirsty looking at the seaside to show her loneliness and being alienated of the people around her.
4.    Long Shot – of Kirsty and her boyfriend messing around at the beach
5. Two Shot - of Kirsty and her boyfriend eating at a local restaurant.
6. Close UpShot - Kirsty singing the first part the bridge
7.  

"You are Everywhere" - Initial Mood Board

Mood Board for "You are Everywhere" on Prezi

This is the Initial Mood Board for "You Are Everywhere" this is my initial thoughts of how I am going to create the video, any inter-textual references it might have, location etc.

Confirmation of the Use of "You Are Everywhere"

Before July, I have e-mailed Aleka to seek permission of the us of "You Are Everywhere", within that time, I was also seeking permission for Charlotte Woodhouse track "Wait Patiently" but she declined my permission, then Aleka replied to my permission and agreed to let me use "You Are Everywhere" to be the track for my music video. Below are the screenshots of the confirmation by Aleka.

Possible Intertextual References for "You Are Everywhere"

The first Intertextual I could possibly make in my Music Video is Cheryl Cole's "The Flood", The reason why I would have this inter textual reference is because, in the video she is secluded, and also shows her emotions, with the use of Close Up shots of her face and the Long Shots of her body, with no other people in sight. The effects used in the video; Cross Dissolves between Cheryl and the ocean, and the dark non-ambient lighting, which could be done in post-production.




The second Intertextual Reference I could possible make is in Colbie Callait's music video, "I Never Told You". What I am planning for my music video is that to make the lighting a bit darker in some scenes (which could be done in post-production) and having some scenes (which could be the flashback scenes where the lead character sees the place she and her boyfriend/husband used to go to) in much brighter lighting, just like the technique used in this video.

Plot for Music Video "You Are Everywhere"

The artist Aleka Javadi dedicated the song to her father, what life felt like after a loved one has passed away and how everything that she does, just reminds her of that person she loved.

What I thought about in this music video is that a couple who are childhood sweethearts (they knew each other since they were younger) the lead character didn't get along with anyone at all, but there was this one person (who ended up being her boyfriend or husband) who just stuck by her until his death. After he had passed away,she couldn't cope with him being gone, she went to the beach, and she started to have flashbacks of the time that they had at the beach, all of the things they have been doing. By the end of the video, she would start to accept the fact that she would need to move on, because it is what he would've wanted her to do.

Another plot would be, similar but instead of the main character being husband/wife, they would be boyfriend/girlfriend and the relationship of the couple collapses and would now have to live knowing that he would end up being with someone else.

I am planning to shoot the video in a variety of locations, starting next week, in Cromer, Norfolk, where the scenes of the beach, would be shot. I am also planning to shoot at Chapelfield Gardens and also key locations  at Norwich.

One of the Locations for "You Are Everywhere" - Cromer Beach

Lyrics of You are Everywhere by Aleka Javadi

Aleka Javadi - You Are Everywhere

(click the link for the song)

Verse 1:

I don’t wanna wake up in the morning, cos I’m afraid daylight reminds me of you

 And I don’t wanna have my breakfast cause I’m afraid eating reminds me of you

And I don’t wanna be in the garden cause I’m afraid the flowers remind me of you

And I don’t wanna sit at our table cause there’s one empty seat and that is the one for you

Bridge:

I’m not angry, no, that you left us

This is just a part of life, of you and me

And I wish I could change this life

I wish I could turn back time

but that is not what’s meant to be

Chorus:

And even though you’re gone you’re everywhere

And if I lost my sight I’d still see you here

You’re everywhere

You’re all around me

You’re my one and only

I just can’t let you go

Verse 2:

I remember when we were together no one could harm us cause love is a powerful thing And all the memories will stay with me forever, you make them precious and nothing can take them away

We had the best times and even our worst times were still so good that I don’t know what bad times mean

And since my childhood you were there protecting me, you knew all answers but who will protect me from now on?

Bridge:

I’m not angry, no, that you left us This is just a part of life, of you and me

And I wish I could change this life

I wish I could turn back time

but that is not what’s meant to be

Chorus:

And even though you’re gone, you’re everywhere

And if I lost my sight, I’d still see you here

You’re everywhere

You’re all around me

You’re my one and only

I just can’t let you go

Though it’s time to move on

And even though you’re gone, you’re everywhere

And if I lost my sight, I’d still see you here

You’re everywhere

You’re all around me

You’re my one and only

I just can’t let you go

I am sorry, this is not the greatest song, but I hope you hear me, I am singing this song for you

Seeking Permission of Another Track - "Wait Patiently

I have looked for another track that interests me and would like to create a music video of. The track is called Wait Patiently by Charlotte Woodhouse (the track can be heard through here: http://www.unsigned.com/charlottewoodhouse)

or (only available with Myspace access)

Wait patiently

I have contacted Charlotte by commenting on her unsigned.com page

She has then e-mailed me and have agreed to co-operate with what I need

Afrika Shox Analysis - Leftfield

Name of Song: Afrixa Shox
Artist: Leftfield; Afrika Babaataa
Year of Release: 1999
Record Label: Chrysalis Music

The video that I am analysing is Africa Shox by Leftfield with the vocals of Afrika Bambaataa. The video was directed by Chris Cunningham.

The video represents race in a variety of ways, an example it represents race is through the use of Camera Angles, an example would be in the beginning of the video, it uses a Low Angle, Close Up shot of the main character in the film, which connotes that he has power, as he is the only one being seen in the shot, and no other characters are involved.

As the video moves on to the next few camera shots, the character moves into a Medium Close Up of the shot of the main character, with the shot taken on a such public location, would then show that he is looking a bit alienated because of his race, and also due to the fact that he is dressed differently than the other characters in the shot.

The theme of alienation continues with the use of Close Up Shots, the purposes of this is that it shows the culture shock of the person because of the sudden change of culture that the character is used to, he is put in a place where everything is much more different than what he is used to.

The negative representation of Race continues right until the end of the video, when the main character gets ran over in the end of the video , it showed that even though he has unlimitedly asked for help for a few times, he will get rejected.

The video also challenges other media conventions, for instance, near the end of the video, when there is a shot of 3 men, break-dancing in the middle of a deserted car park, this challenges usual media conventions because usually the genre of hip/hop and break dance genre is usually portrayed by a person with dark skin e.g. Will Smith, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne etc.