Lyrics and contribution to timeline

Within this blog post I have attached the lyrics for our song 'clap snap' by Icona pop so that our group is able to look back and work on how our lyrics can compliment or link to the music video on our timeline. This week we will be working on our timeline to gain control of the structure of our music video and come up with visual pictures or images of what we want to be included in a certain timing or frame on the timeline. The lyrics are key for this process of developing our ideas because we can look at them and think how mise-en-scene compliments and exaggerates the lyrics in this pop song. The lyrics within this song are very random and don't mean much so we don't get an idea of what narrative to create but we have decided that our idea is going to have lots of visual aspects to interest the viewer in the artists performance aspect and not include a narrative. I think that random props, lighting and costumes will really make this video wild and crazy, something that the viewer won't forget.

Communication within the group

To communicate with each other in school and out of school we use Facebook messenger as this allows us to work as a team with group prep but also discuss ideas for our video as sometimes we won't have this time to use in our lessons. Below is a screenshot of our messenger group to show how we correspond with each other.

Ollie Allgrove

In our lesson today we had a visit and presentation made by Ollie Allgrove who is currently working in the film business as an executive producer and is able to make the occasional music video. Below are some notes that i made during the presentation.

• He is an executive producer, and deals with the business side within the music and film industry.
• Algarve is involved in creating feature films, music videos and commercials. Began as a runner and is now used to making videos work within a smaller budget. This made him realise that budgets aren't important, you work just as hard with a low budget as you would with a high budget.
• Currently works for Passion Pictures, born from the film 'who framed roger rabbit' where live animation and real life was brought together ( an original of its time)
• Passion Pictures is an independent company and animation company that makes an occasional music video, feature film, tv commercials, nature documentaries. It has worked well with the gorillaz and their use of animation in their music video's.
• The picture company is meant to tell stories through animation, live action and design.
• They represent the talent, talent management as they represent directors, producers and VFX artists.
• They represent directors because it is what the commissioners want, they want the view and idea that the director is all about and what they have come up with.
• A director is a leader. They offer unique visual voices and they offer a creative point of view.
• Allgrove believes that you tour an album these days to make money where as it used to be the process of selling or advertising your records, but nowadays they don't sell records because everything is digital.
• Why do you make a pop video? - it is a way of establishing the artist and showing them to the audience, selling an image.
• The use and creation of a treatment speaks to the artist and is about creating hits, controversy, noise and make an initial impact.
• The collaboration is known as the musician/ artist and director sharing ideas.
• A way of doing this is creating a brief (background of artist and what happens in the song, looking at the lyrics). The treatment is the creative idea realised, putting the idea down on paper. The purpose of a treatment is to create the start and journey towards the video shoot and to sell the idea to the audience and artist.
• The shoot- when you actually make the idea happen. 
• The edit- crafting and story telling. This process is when you create the emotion that the viewer should be feeling. 
• 'Don't fix it in post!' is what Allgrove mentioned as a key thing to remember as it is a very expensive way of doing it, get everything done efficiently first. However post effects can add a lot more to a lower budget production. 
• Allgrove made it clear that animation is an important technique used in music videos made by Passion Pictures. A clear example of this was any 'gorillaz' music video made.

Music video song

For this music treatment that i made previously on my blog we have finalised the idea of using 'Icona pop's' song 'clap snap' because it does not have a music video to represent it and it is performed by the artists icona pop who are not that well known but have a very original pop music genre running through their current album. The song itself is pop and it has a lot of variety as they have included house or dance beats into a song that is old and has been around for years. Giving an old song this current beat allows old fans of the song and fans from icon pop to all be interested in this song, creating a larger audience base for this single. In this video below i have included the song we are going to use:

Our star image

Treatment for final idea

In this treatment of our music video idea I have made a slide show to clearly demonstrate the visual effects of our music video. We have made changes since our pitch to Luke and we have decided to go with visual effects for performance rather then a narrative, as we made the narrative more complicated then it needed to be. I did not include anything about 'settings' because we hope to create most of these sets in the studio to give us more time to design the sets.

In the first section of this slide show I have shown what we want the room to look like, the colours, lighting and features. The UV section is all about the careful selection of costumes to make the dancers and main singer stand out. For this I used Nicki Minaj's 'super bass; music video and Beyonce's 'blow' music video as inspiration. This is because they both include choreographed dancing within this UV setting. The pictures of the UV lit signs could be used all around the studio room to display how lost she is, confused, almost like Alice in wonderland, 'which way should she pick?' The pictures go on to show Beyonce's 'blow' sign which could be an accessory or prop we could create ourself to display the name of the song. Or maybe the singer could write the name of the song on the camera lens and the type face could be in neon or a UV colour. The costume for this has to include a lot of white, green and bright pink as these colours appear best in the UV lighting. The makeup for this set is also demonstrated with these colours in the photograph. To add to this we were thinking of having a choreographed dance to this with other dancers included in it and possibly dance with the props of chairs or a ballet dance pole stand. If we can't get this in the studio we could use the dance studio at school where there are these props or settings already made up.

For the second set of this video we all wanted to create a projection theme. Other projections were also inspired by the 'where are u now' music video by skrillex and Rihanna's Puma video campaign in which projections of the sea and various doodles are projected or overjoyed over the top of the person to make it appear as a tattoo. This idea would be good for closeups of the body and movements in the choreographed dance.

For the third set we are going to create a 'girly' theme because majority of the props and colours used on this set will adhere to all female stereotypes, which is good to gain the target audiences eye. We were thinking of using a wall ore bed of roses, and possibly use the idea from Katy perry's 'California dreams tour' of dressing the artist in a long maxi dress and if possible have her sitting on a high swing with projections such as fireworks, laser lights etc. being displayed on her dress. To get the best results for this it is best for the singer to be wearing a white maxi dress. For the bed of roses scene I was thinking of using baby pink and blues and possibly a tutu to show the singer in a more youthful appearance compared to the sexual or more grown up choreographed dancing scenes in the previous sets. This will therefore appear to her younger fans.

Music video pitch

This video was recorded before we came up with our final idea, meaning that our ideas included in my treatment have changed. Pitching to Luke was a helpful process because we were then able to explain our ideas to someone else rather then just ourselves because obviously the idea makes sense in our heads because we were the ones who came up with it. Although this video does not describe our 'new' or 'final' idea it does show the process we took and the problems that arose with our idea.

Audience profiling

Initial group ideas research

Dark R&B

For our first idea we were looking at doing a dark r&b music video but since we had our meeting with Luke he suggested not to go with mainstream artists that people know well, due to the fact that they probably already have music videos to their songs that audience members would prefer to see over our creation. So when creating our first and main idea we had to research what artists are similar and what song we could use. The weeknd was our original artist that we wanted to choose but due to his popularity at the moment with his recent album released it was too risky to pick a song from his new album, as he would probably release his music videos before we had the chance to. In this prezi created and shown below I have demonstrated how we researched the songs for our music video idea and the background information for these artists, all within the same genre of dark R&B.

Initial meeting with Luke

• In todays lesson we had a meeting with Luke which was a discussion around the basis of the 'do's and don'ts of creating a music video. He gave us some valuable advice that we can either choose to take or not take. 
• Luke basically said that the main aspects that are important to include in a music video are; a performance, a narrative and some other suggestions like lip syncing and to include the artist and show them as having attitude, which is obviously dependant on the song that we pick. 
• To make this task bearable he suggested to not pick a song that you like too much as by the end of the process of making the music video you will edit it and shoot it for so long that you will be sick of the song and the ideas won't flow as easily and the whole aim of this music video is to create something that you can be proud of. 
• When picking the song he said that it is best to pick a song that does not have an existing music video otherwise we will get caught up in watching that music video and automatically try and re-create it, meaning that it won't be original and audience members and fans of the song would prefer to watch the better video, which is more likely not be our video. 
• Our group was originally looking at music by The weeknd but because it is quite mainstream it might be a hard task to fulfil, so we might have to re-think this.

Audience profiling - Music markets

To understand what we want our music video to be about we need to pick a song to relate our music video to. Its important to pick music you feel that you would create good ideas too, but it is also important to see the popularity of the genre this song is categorised into as this can allow me and my group to see the popularity of music and see how we can create a music video to this type of audience. By using the BPI website I was able to look at old information from 3013 which showed which music genre's came out as the most popular ones.

 For our group we looked at all the genre's and we originally wanted to go with Dark R&B and we still think that R&B is a good genre to choose for our music video because it was popular but not the most popular, meaning that it has a niche audience so there are less people interested in it. The benefits of this is that if we were in the music industry we would still make a lot of money from this artist but it would also be an easier process for us as there are less people to please, making the stereotypical things to be included in an R&B music video a lot easier to create for the audience. If we were to use rock or pop it would be more difficult because of the mass of audience members that are harder to please because there is a higher expectation from these audience members for us to please them. Generally another reason not to pick pop is because pop videos are very hard to create and visualise to the music and the outcome often comes out tacky or it has been done many times before.

Mood board - initial idea 2

In our second idea that we came up with we created a visual story that includes costumes, props, visual effects and lighting that compliment the narrative of a female group going out and having fun. This mood board is all about female friendships.

Mood board - initial idea 1

This mood board shows the visual effects that we want to create for our initial idea 1 as a group. This idea clearly shows the atmospheric tone that we want to create alongside a dark R&B song.

Music video group

Post it shower

Today in our lesson we initialised our final groups for the creation of our music video. Using post it notes we were able to write down what ideas and themes we wanted in our music video. The general feel that came about in our discussion was that we wanted a mixture of the music video to have a narrative as well as a performance aspect in it. The feeling that that we wanted to project from the creation of the music video was that it needed to be atmospheric due to the main genre of our song choices being dark R&B. We all agreed with the genre of music and then from there we came up with artists that were similar to each other and to this genre, these being, The weeknd, Frank Ocean and Banks etc. A concern of using the weeknd's music is that it could be classified as quite mainstream and the songs could be quite popular. The positive thing about the weeknd is that they have only just released their new album so not many people are aware of all of their songs just yet. This means that none of them have a music video presented to the audience yet so this would make it easier to create our music video for one of their songs as we wouldn't be distracted by their current music idea themes, so our music video can be original.

 In class we took a picture of the 'post it showers' and this is what we came up with as a group:

And here is an image to finalise our music video group:

Task 1 - Music video idea 3

'Dark times'- The Weekend Feat. Ed Sheeran 

Although this song is similar to the first song because of its darker R&B genre it is good to have yet another song that does not have a music video made for it and it also includes two different well known singers voices which means I can create a band rather then just a solo artist which is what the previous videos have been based around. 

I think that the artists should look different but have the same action happening to them in the music video. This music video should be about going out all night and every night under the influence of alcohol, as the 'dark times' which is referred through the lyrics of the song and in the title of the song is them not knowing when to stop drinking. I want the video to start with both of them walking into their bedrooms after a late night and it appearing clean and them appearing healthy and not injured and to then fast forward to the morning when they wake up in the light with bruises on their faces and I want their rooms to be messy with alcohol all over the place. This is an interesting idea for editing because it allows me to parallel cut from one artist to the next, both looking completely different as individuals and as artists for this song but to both be in the exact situation. Their situation is that they both spend everyday with different women and always come back to the same home every evening drunk. A good way of exaggerating this is by having the same scene of them coming home and waking up in the morning in their rooms but wearing different clothes to prove how often they do this.

Although this is the narrative of the music video I want to also include the two artists together in a performance scene in which they are dressed similarly in smart black clothing to make them look more like a band thats compliments each other. I think that the music video should all be in black and white for visual effects but to then have dark coloured tones such as a dark blue or dark red shining in and out of the performance part of the music video. I also want to project water effects or the idea of a liquid being poured over the top of the artists whilst they perform the song as this will almost show the deeper effects of actually drowning in alcohol. The use of props such as mirrors and glasses in the location of the bedroom could also be used to parallel cut into the other artist. For instance the first singer finishes their verse and then looks at themselves in the mirror and the other artist appears as the reflection.

The lighting effects was inspired by Justin bier's new video release of 'what do you mean' as the lighting used to create the effect that the two are sitting in the car creates this darker mood to song. I also want to use rain, clouds and snow as a projected image on top of the artists whilst they perform and all of these projections should go in time with the obvious beats that are created by the drums and bass. The narrative of this music video is very much inspired by Ed Sheeran's 'bloodstream' music video because that video was all about the negative effects of fame and alcohol, however the difference is that this is more non-naturalistic and visually interesting.

Task 1 - music video idea 2

'Revolver' - Madonna

This is a more upbeat song then 'waiting game' as tempo is faster and the backdrop of the beat in the music is harsher. I chose this song because I think that the lyrics in the song could create a strong story and narrative behind the video. The positive thing about choosing this song is that it is performed by a well known artist, Madonna, whilst at the same time a video was never created for it making it original.

  For this music video I imagine the whole video to be a narrative and to not have a performance but to still use direct address and to have the artist sing along to the lyrics of the song whilst acting in the story of the video. As for the story of the video wanted it to start of with the artist in a cell in prison, with dark and ominous lighting with one source of light to show of some details of her face whilst she sings along, with direct address towards the audience and camera. I think that this video should begin in black and white and then colour should be introduced when the flashing lights of the prison cell turn on. Everyone including the police rush towards a certain area whilst the woman and artist escapes the cell. The costumes in this scene will obviously be a prison uniform with maybe an exaggerated make up look to fulfil the image of the artist representing pop.

Throughout the rest of the video it should go from the artists escape to her committing more murders, almost like a serial killer but a less serious approach so that her younger audience members can still understand her usual fun side. To make it more upbeat and more pop I think that there should be choreographed dancing. The locations used for this video would have to be on set and then made due to the fact that its very unlikely that I could get permission on location as well as being able to change around things at a location that has already been made. Whilst there is choreographed dancing I think that there should also be choreographed fight scenes to show off the feminine power and stronger woman abilities of this artist. This will compliment the lyrics of the song because even the title of the song is 'revolver' meaning guns and aggression, which will definitely be shown in this video. This idea is influenced from other music videos such as 'superpower' by Beyonce and 'Sweet escape' by Gwen Stefani.

I think that the digi pack images should compliment this theme of the artist being a criminal but at the same time involve bright lipstick and red lights or pink lights to indicate the pop genre within this artists image. 

Task 1 - music video idea 1

'Waiting game' - Banks

For the basis of my first music video I am going to use the song 'waiting game' by Banks. Jillian Rose Banks who is an artist simply known as banks is an upcoming singer who toured with the weeknd. Banks' image as an artist is very indie and very similar to other artists such as Lana Delray, Aaliyah and the weekend as her music is often described as being dark R&B. The album cover for this single already uses the dark colours of black and white giving a more gothic approach to this haunting and subtle song, which is something that I would like to entail in the music video for this song.

For this music video I think that there should be a performance by the artist which then cross cuts every now and then to a narrative within the video. When listening to the song I noticed that there is a very dark and ominous tone to 'waiting game', which can be used to create a serious story behind the song.

For me the narrative of this song should be about a women in a relationship that has turned dark, I don't know whether its that the man cheats on her or abuses her but she seeks revenge from this misuse of trust. Therefore the story should be her doing things such as swapping his medical prescription to a different one, buying a gun for protection and swapping her money over to a different account. This is inspired by films such as 'gone girl', the 'other women', 'Mr and Mrs Smith' and also by the recent released music video 'Bitch better have my money' by Rihanna. During this narrative shown in the music video there is continuous flash backs to them fighting, her crying and other negative states of their relationship.

There should also be a performance aspect that the video cross cuts into. The setting of this is a dark small room with black walls and with reflective patterns, projections on to the singer and wall. The artist should be wearing dark lipstick and I think that from an artistic perspective these shots of the performance should be in black and white but the projections and patterns and maybe strobe lighting should be in an LED colour like later red e.t.c The artist should be wearing white or black, maybe a fancy long dress to give a more mysterious look. Most of the shots should be a close up of her lips, eyes and any other significant facial features that show harsh emotions. I think it should be a complete band performance to make it more atmospheric to the different sounds being produced from this song.

For the narrative aspect of the music video the artist should be wearing dark clothes that make her look private and secretive, such as hoodies. The narrative should take place in a pharmacy, a shop that could be made to look like a gun store, or an alley way in which she could purchase a gun and more importantly a house in which I could use the flashbacks for to show the couples relationship.

The stylistic elements used in the performance aspect of the music video would be the use of neon lighting, LED lights, Strobe lighting and projections. If I was to film the narrative aspect of the music video first then I could use bits of the narrative as the image to project onto the performance part of the music video.

This song is about a relationship between a couple which is then used and re-created in this music video so the link between both compliments each other which is important because the video needs to show off the best parts of the song, which I think this video will do. It will keep the audience member interested because they have a story to follow as well as being visually interested because of the projections and interesting use of lighting. Another interesting aspect to play on in the making of this video could be the weather. For instance in the video it could rain at certain points to foreshadow the emotions within the song and build up deeper emotions, also know as pathetic fallacy.

The video will also compliment the brand image of the artist because the artist will be dressed in the performance part of the video like she would be dressed in the digi pack cover of the artist, therefore linking them both together.