Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Final decision.

After Kayla and myself reviewed and thoroughly discussed our three main ideas we decided it would be a good idea to ask our peers which idea they preffered; so we did, and the popular 2 ideas were pitch 1 and 2; so we decided to go with the most popular idea which was Pitch 1- (Jessie J- 'mamma knows best').


So, the artist we are launching is 'Rosanna Love' who is a female songstress who is heavily influenced by pop/R'n'B and soul. In the video she will be singing the song by pop artist Jessie J - 'Mama knows best'. The video will be in black and white/grainy/distorted with elements of 50's style with main influences from videos such as Beyonce - 'Why don't you love me' and Christina Aguilera - 'Ain't no other man.'






Christina Aguilera- 'Aint no other man' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x7Ta89QLo4&ob=av2e
Beyonce- 'Why don't you love me'  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QczgvUDskk0&ob=av2e

Pitch 3.


Genre/Song

Birdy-'Be free'
[contemporary/soul influence]


Band/Artist(s) name

Daisy Love. We have chosen this name as it seems appealing; also, it is quirky. The image for this artist would be classy, therefore in the music video she would wear long dresses and have natural flowing hair, maybe pinned up in some scenes and nice natural long curls in others with plain, natural make-up.


Setting(s)
Very simple yet effective; Daisy playing the piano in opening scene leading into scenes of her playing around in a field on her own surrounded my fresh air, trees and nature; the video will be performance based without a narrative or real storyline, however in order to relate to the lyrics we will have the final scene of daisy letting birds free from her hands so they will fly up, the camera will follow the birds into the sky and the video will end.


Editing
Again, for this particular video/song we will keep the editing minimalistic as the song is very contemporary and calm. we will edit some scenes to look slow motion and some scenes will be in black and white, to give it the old fashioned, contemporary feel, also; some shots will be edited by graining for the scene to look distorted.

'Be Free' lyrics
 

The rain falls, to the ground
So much harder when you're not around
'Cause my love for you
Is so strong
But is yours really true?
You said you loved me
But my heart still says we're through
I'm feeling sorrow
But there's nothing I can do
You can do what you want,baby
'Cause I am leaving you
You can do what you want, baby
'Cause I am leaving you
You can do what you want, baby
'Cause I am leaving you
Leaving you
For someone who will love me true
You don't love me
But you won't let us be apart
It's because you know
It will break my heart
But all the while
You're still unhappy
So desperate to be free
And because I love you, baby
I have to let you be
So be free
I'll let you go
I only said these things because I love you so
So, be free
I'll let you go
I know that when you're gone
I'm gonna miss you so
The rain falls to the ground
So much harder now you're not aroun
d

Pitch 2.

Genre/ Song:
Rihanna ft. Drake - Whats my name
[R&B and Hip-hop]

Band/Artist name:
'Lacene ft. Adriano.'  we chose the name Lacene as it has a edgy sound and isn't a popular choice for names; Lacene is a upcoming R&B female artist, and Adriano is a well known rapper who has been in the music industry for a while. He features in this song to assist her in her career and  so that she will be acknowledged by his fans as well, this will boost sales as she will have a wider fan range by working with artists outside of her genre.

Setting(s):
There are many different settings within this idea; however, all settings will have a similar theme- gritty and ghetto- following RnB and hip hop conventions. i.e walls full of graffiti, the streets etc. We are planning to film all scenes in Manchester city centre and picadilly gardens for a fun, youthful edge as Manchester is the place for young students etc.

These are some stills from the original 'Whats my name' video.
    


Camerawork:
For the scenes in the streets, there will be numerous long shots- mid shots and also close ups; a range of shots edited to look fast pace. We will also use a range of mid-shots and close-ups to show facial expressions and emotions. Tracking shots will be used to follow Lacene and Aidriano walking/ dancing around the streets.

Editing:
The editing will consist of bright lighting; changing the contrast on numerous occasions and fading in and out of different scenes.



'Whats my name?' lyrics:


[Rihanna]Ooh na na, what’s my name?
Ooh na na, what’s my name? Ooh na na, what’s my name?
Ooh na na, what’s my name?Ooh na na, what’s my name?
What's my name, what's my name?


[Drake]Yeah I heard you good with them soft lips
Yeah you know word of mouth
The square root of 69 is ate some, right?Cuz I’ve been tryna work it out, 
Good weed, white wine, I come alive in the night time 
Okay, away we goOnly thing we have on is the radio
Ooooh, let it play, say you gotta leave 
But I know you wanna stay
You just waiting on the traffic jam to finish girl
The things that we could do in twenty minutes girl
Say my name, say my name Wear it out,
its getting hot, crack a window, air it out
I can get you through a mighty long day
Soon as u go the text that i write is gon say…


[Rihanna
Not everybody that knows how to work my body
knows how to make me want it
But boy you stay up on it
You got that something that keeps me so off balance
Baby you’re a challenge, lets explore your talent


[Chorus]
Hey boy I really wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me
Hey boy, I really wanna be with you
Cause you just my type
Ooh na na na naI need a boy to take it over
looking for a guy to put in work, uhoooooh, oooooh
Hey boy I really wanna see if you can go long time witha girl like me
Hey boy, I really wanna be with youCause you just my typeOoh na na na naI need a boy to take it overlooking for a guy to put in work, 
uh oooooh, ooooohOoh na na, what’s my name
Ooh na na, what’s my name?Ooh na na, what’s my name?
Whats my name, whats my name?


[Rihanna]
Baby you got me, and ain't nowhere that I’d be
Than with your arms around me
Back and forth you rock me, 
yeah So I surrender, to every word you whisper 
Every door you enter, I will let you in


[Chorus]


Monday, 26 September 2011

Pitch 1.


Genre/Song:   
Jessie J - 'Mama knows best'

[pop/jazz/soul influences]

Band/Artist name:  
We have chosen the name 'Rosanna Love' for our upcoming female recording artist. The image we think would be ideal for a artist like her would be a vintage/retro look especially regarding the music video. For example; in the music video for different scenes; i can picture our artist with rollers in her hair, wearing conventional high waist hot pants (conventioanl for the era we're setting the video in-5O's/60s), big hair, glamorous, long dresses and heavy eyeliner. 

Setting(s):      
We have decided to use a range of settings for our video shoot. the first one being a 50's style house, old fashioned fireplace, floral/retro wallpaper, ornimants etc. the second setting will be a cafe with a retro/old fashioned theme. Also; we are going to use 'green screen' for a bright, colourful backdrop, in addition to this we decided to use the 'green screen' in order for us to have a retro backdrop for the solo performance peice.
Camerawork:
A range of camera shots will be used for our video; mainly being mid-shots to show both elements of the background and her facial expressions- by using mid shots we get the best of both. We are going to ensure we keep using different shots, and use close ups to show expressions and emotions. Also; there will be a mix of both narrative and performance in between shots.

Editing style:
When 'Rosanna' is in the kitchen having a conversation with her mother the shots will be edited into black and white; also this specific footage of  her with her parents will be under cranked/accelerated to give a comical element  when her mother is shouting at her. the performance segment will be bright, colourful this is so the audience can tell the didfference between the two major concepts; performance and acting. the full music video will be edited to look slightly distorted to add a retro/vintage theme.

Song lyrics

Well there is something going down
Like the storm in the sky
I ain't gonna be played by your behavior
How can I trust someone who's lying to me, so

Bow out, go!
Now I said bow out, leave!
I said take your stuff and go,
'Cuz you're not for me
Mama knows best when times get hard
And papa always has a joke to make me laugh
Mama knows best when
I feel down, to bring me up
And always keep my feet on the ground

Say I know know know
That you can pick up and drop,
And all of this inconsistent love
I think it's about time that it stops

So bow out, go!
Now I said bow out, leave!
I said take a bow and go,
'Cuz you're not for me
Mama knows best when times get hard
And papa always has a joke to make me laugh
Mama knows best when
I feel down, to bring me up
And always keep my feet on the ground

Just keep the best of ma'
Daddy said to me
Always use humor as your therapy, yeah
Don't ever take life too seriously,
Just do you, 'cuz you do you so perfectly

Mama, mama knows best
Daddy, daddy knows best

Thursday, 15 September 2011

History of Music videos: progression of music videos (Research and comparison)

The progession within the music industry; particularly the 'music video' apsect has been huge. In order to fully understand different genres and the suitable videos for the particular genre we decided to look at a range of music videos and compare them to mordern day videos to look at the similarities and trhe differences; obviously alot has changed since the very first music video to be released- 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen. As we know, Music videos represent a crucial part of the music industry. Artists use music videos as a way of  being given the chance of impressing the public not just with their vocal talent, but also with their looks or moves or as Micheal Jackson showed us his acting skills and dance moves in the iconic music video 'Thriller'.

Music videos we have looked at :in order to understand different genres and different ways in potraying a artist.

Michael Jackson- 'Thriller'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEHsIcsjtdI

This 14 minute music video is often referred to as the 'greatest music video ever' and has also been voted the 'most influential pop music video of all time'. 'Thriller' proved to have a profound effect on popular culture.Voted as the most influential pop music video of all time, merged film making and music flawlessly."Michael Jackson's "Thriller" continues to be considered the 'greatest video ever'. Gil Kaufman of MTV described the "Thriller" video as being "iconic" and felt that it was one of Jackson's "most enduring legacies". He also suggested that the music video was the "mini-movie that revolutionized music videos" and "cemented Jackson's status as one of the most innovative pop stars of all time.



Michael Jackson- 'Billie Jean'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XLOBDo_Y
The short film for  Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" is considered the video that brought MTV, a fairly new and unknown music channel, into mainstream attention.

Queen- 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=irp8CNj9qBI 

The single was accompanied by a promotional video, considered 'ground-breaking'. It was only after the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" that it became regular for record companies to produce promotional videos for artists' single releases.

Artists such as Beyonce, Christina Aguliera have taken the concept of the late 50's and brought it forward to the 21st century to potray the song in a light in which they prefer.

Beyonce- 'Why dont you love me?'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QczgvUDskk0


Beyonce: cleaning, with rollers, 50's wallpaper etc.

Red lipstick, bandana in hair/ rollers, checkered shirt follows conventions of late 5O's/early 6o's woman.

Christina Aguilera- 'Aint no other man'

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x7Ta89QLo4



Rollers, red lipstick, big hair, low cut tops, figure hugging dresses exaggerates the year video is set.



Another major innovator of our time is Lady gaga. with her quirky yet intriguing style she has brought us some iconic videos/ideas, her songs such as 'Bad romance', 'Telephone', 'Videophone' and 'Judah' have brought controversy yet intrigues us to know what this global phenaominon is about to do next!


Lady Gaga-'Bad Romance'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I






Lady Gaga- 'Telephone'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVBsypHzF3U







Gaga brought more contoversy to the music industry when earlier this year she released her video for 'Judas'
after debuting er highly controversial music video for her newest single Judas off her Born This Way album.
With plenty of religious symbolism, eye-liner and naked dancers choreographed by choreographer to the stars Laurieann Gibson the video is exactly what we have come to expect from Gaga on her new album-controversial. She responded well to the critisism saying:
“I don’t view the video as a religious statement. I view it as social statement. I view it as a cultural statement. It’s a metaphor. It’s not meant to be a biblical lesson.”
Lady Gaga- 'Judas'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wagn8Wrmzuc




Nowadays, the music video is as important as the song itself, sometimes even deciding the success of a song or artist. Collections of music videos are being sold on tapes or DVDs.

Brief and research into early music videos

Brief
To produce a promotional package for the release of a album; the package must include a music promo video with a cover for its release as part of a digipack and a promotional poster.



Research into early Music Videos

In order to fully understand the concept of music videos; i acknowledged that i should look into/research earlier music videos.


 Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen is arguably the first music video followed by millions in order to boost record sales with help from a music video. When released as a single alongside it a music video,  'Bohemian Rhapsody' became a instant hit, attaining commercial success; the single managed to hold onto the number 1 spot for almost 9 weeks. The video which accompanied the was classed as 'groundbreaking'. "Bohemian Rhapsody" remains one of Queen's most popular songs; one of the reasons being the music video. Also; when MTV was launched in 1981, they used British music artists/bands and not only American musicians due to this reason. 


www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ


^ The fact that the video opens with a shot of the four band members in near darkness as they sing is highly effective a the onlooker is intrigued. The lights fade up, and the shots cross-fade into close-ups of Freddie- the lead singer; this is so that the audience knows that he is the lead singer and shows importance of him as he has a close up. 


Another music video which took the world by storm was 'thriller' by non other than Michael Jackson; this particular video is said to be the biggest selling and most influential video of all time. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7NK87q0q5E&feature=related - Part1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld8vPCr4aOc&feature=related- Part 2

'Thriller' was adapted into a highly successful music video; At fourteen minutes the video is longer than the song, the reason for this being it has narrative; the video ties together a narrative and the music itself. In the video's most iconic scene, Jackson leads other actors costumed as zombies in a choreographed dance routine. The video was immediately popular and received high critical acclaim, being nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 and winning three. A major achievement-till this day. 


 
    

Monday, 5 September 2011

Shooting schedule!

Due to the fact that we have been let down a numerous times before- we have decided to produce a new shooting schedule for the music video and pictures for the digipak and poster.


Because all our video is shot in one location - the retro cafe it is accessible for us to film in 2 days therefore we have split  the 2 days into 4 sections as we have 4 different backdrops for the video.




Dates:                                                


June/July 17th     Begin research into      
                              Music industry i.e Micheal Jackson, Beyonce etc


September 9th    Research into music       
                             genres: POP, RNB, HIP HOP ETC


September16th   Finalise artist and produce three pitches.
                            
Sept 23rd          Meet with artist decided on (Kayla)            
                           and brief her on performance 


                           Location hunting- Retro cafe, fianslise dates with owner
                           Buy Kaylas outfits for the shoot     
         
Sept 30th          Rough cut- Master track 'Mamma knows best'


Oct7th               Capture live version of 'mamma knows best'      



Oct 14th             Capture performance part of music video


Oct 21st              Rough cut of music video- edit the first version
                           Mock up the cover for teh CD cover- research into Beyonce, Jessie J

November 4th    Finalise the editing for the music video and the digipak and poster.
                          Reshoot if we have too and FINISH the DTP work