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music video pre production

Original concept idea for music video

Original concept: 

The song I have chosen to make a music video for is Why'd You Only Call Me When Your High by the Arctic Monkeys. The concept for the music video follows the lyrics of the song with a man leaving a pub after drinking he lights a joint and begins walking home the footage is deliberately choppy and unstable to mimic how disoriented the man is as he walks home. As he is walking we see a montage of various 'trippy' shots.

Ending: The man gets to the girls house and finds her passed out on the bed unsure if she is dead or not the video cuts to black before we found out for sure.

upside down shot fake falling affect by having the actor lean along with the camera's rotation. the man drops a bottle we see it shatter upside down then reverse the footage of the bottle re-forming

360 shot rotating around head but we never see his face

girl walking towards man when they line up the girl dissapears he turns and sees that she is not there

shot of man taking a drag of the joint match on action to a syringe emptying

man looks down an alleyway we see the girl lit only by the light of a cigarette the man looks down the alleyway for her but she isn't there

we see the phone light up with the text "are you out tonight?"

shot of clock going backwards to the "change your mind" lyric

shot of retina expanding

shot of houses, trees and the road rippling

close up of glass with something being dropped in cut to the same glass exploding (hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide/ elephants toothpaste experiment)

shot of heroin spoon with water bubbling

shot of the man walking being followed by himself (overlaying shots)

POV stumbling shot

split screen shot of the man calling the girl and her phone ringing

Research and Planning: music videos

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys in 2014

A four piece British indie rock group from Hign Green, a Suburb of Sheffield. The band consists of lead singer Alex Turner, lead guitarist Jamie Cook, drummer Matt Helders, and bassist Nick O'Malley. Formed in 2002 Arctic Monkeys currently have 5 studio albums which have won multiple Brit and NMEs awards, including the mercury prize for best album for their debut release, what ever people say i am that's what i'm not (2006)  (see below)

Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not (2006)

Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

Humbug (2008-10)

Suck It And See (2011-12)

AM (2013-14)

Music Videos:


Target audience: reformers / individuals because of its gritty, depressing subject matter



Target Audience: Aspirers/Main-streamers because of its satirical portrait of a night out, and the
                              humorous effects of narcotics

Target Audience: Reformers/Individuals for its depiction of determination and passion, inspiring for                                young individuals (16-26)

Genre: Arctic monkeys are referred to mostly as indie rock but as of late they have become big enough to no longer be considered indie gathering a very large following after the release of AM making them mostly considered to be rock or alternative rock. there change in style is also in correlation with this as well, as they have become more mainstream they have changed their styke to perhaps conform with a bigger audience 

Style:  punk/rock verging on Rock. Arctic Monkeys share a lot of similarities with other British rock bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs and Kasabian as they all diversify from, punk to pop rock to rock. 

Fashion: Due to their Sheffield upbringing Arctic Monkeys wear mostly casual clothing but since the release of AM the band has re-invented their image opting instead for more 50/60 greaser type clothing consisting of leather jackets and slicked back hair  

Arctic Monkeys - Songs 

Arctic monkeys have manipulated and adjusted their sound since they were formed in 2002 giving each album a unique sound which helped with their rise in popularity because of their varied styles over their albums a lot of different audiences were drawn towards their music.

Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not & Favourite Worst Nightmare

The band's first two studio albums reflected their inner punk and aggressive youth with most of the sings being upbeat and fast paced offering the same kind of raw gritty sound that could have been heard by the sex pistols decades ago. only these two Ablbums offers a more reflective atitiude towards life and a more considered approach to all the pitfalls and deceptions growing up can be filled with, and if your not careful what you could end up as, songs like when the sun goes down  do this beautifully as the song is a bout a prostitute and the unpleasant company she has to keep, athe reoccurring theme of human fault and mistakes is shown too in leave when the lights come on a song mostly about the damages and regrets lust can bring about the numerous regrets sex can potentially have. these two albums show the raw untamed adolescence that the arctic monkeys first had to offer  

I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor (Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not)

When The Sun Goes Down (Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not)

Teddy Picker (Favourite Worst Nightmare)

Fluorescent Adolescent (Favorite Worst Nightmare) 

AM

The bands most recent studio album shows a noticeable shift in tempo and lyrical content. It is clear that the band has moved on from their Sheffield roots displaying instead a more American style rock in a similar vain to Elvis (Alex Turner's mannerisms are often compared to Elvis). The change is even noticeable through the album covers over time they've go darker and more abstract with fewer details on each album this also goes for their songs, they have gotten shorter detailed lyrics as the band has progressed.

Do I Wanna Know? (AM)

 

Knee Socks (AM)

 

The Black Keys

The Black Keys in 2010

A two piece rock outfit formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001, consisting of lead guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney. The band currently have 8 albums, 4 of them being independently recorded and the other 4 recorded in a studio. their albums include:

The Big Come Up & Thickfreakness (2001-2003)


Rubber Factory & Magic Potion (2004-2007)

Attack And Release (2007-2009)

Brothers (2010-2011)

El Camino (2011-2013)

Turn Blue (2013-present)

Genre: while they have experimented with many different genres including blues, soul and psychedelic rock The Black Keys are primarily rock/indie rock. with influences from other indie rock bands such as the white stripes

Style: The Black Keys share a lot of similarities with other rock bands such as The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, Cage The Elephant and Kings of Leon. in the sense they both share the indie rock/blues genre  the black keys also share similarities with the white stripes as they are both two piece bands, bands with only two people.

Fashion: The Black Keys do not adopt a particular fashion but they do mostly wear denim, influenced perhaps by their working class backgrounds, and their hometowns  stoneware, sanitary sewer, fishing tackle, farming equipment, match, toy, and rubber industries.

The Black Keys - Songs

Your Touch (Magic Potion)

I Got Mine (Attack and Release)

Tighten Up (Brothers)

Fever (Turn Blue)

Royal Blood

Royal Blood in 2014

An English rock duo formed in Worthing, West Sussex, Royal Blood consists of bassist/singer Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher. The band has released one self-titled album of critical acclaim recicving the Brit in 2015 for best British group

Royal Blood (2014)

Genre: Royal Blood have been described as modern blues rock, garage rock and psychedelic rock they share some similarity with the two other bands in this post.

Style: Royal Blood share similarities with The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters and Queens Of the Stone Age in the sense they are all indie rock based. they also share similarities with the black keys in the sense they are both two piece bands one on guitar and one on drums.

Fashion: The band does not have a particular style of clothing, but mostly wear baseball caps and leather jackets, coinciding with their indie rock vibe and possibly an American influence

Royal Blood - Songs

Out Of The Black (Royal Blood)

Figure It Out (Royal Blood)

Careless (Royal Blood)

Come On Over (Royal Blood)

Final song: Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High

I have decided to create a music video for Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High because the premise of the song is very simple and I believe that it would be easy to create a music video to go along to the narrative provided through the lyrics.

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High Lyrics

The mirror's image
Tells me it's home time
But I'm not finished
'Cause you're not by my side
And as I arrived I thought I saw you leaving
Carrying your shoes
Decided that once again I was just dreaming
Of bumping into you

Now it's three in the morning and I'm trying to change your mind
Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply,
"Why'd you only call me when you're high?
Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?"

Somewhere darker
Talking the same shite
I need a partner (hey)
Well, are you out tonight?
It's harder and harder to get you to listen
More I get through the gears
Incapable of making alright decisions
And having bad ideas

Now it's three in the morning and I'm trying to change your mind
Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply (message you reply),
"Why'd you only call me when you're high? (why'd you only call me when you're high?)
Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?"

And I can't see you here wonder where am I?
Sort of feels like I'm running out of time
I haven't found what I was hoping to find
You said, "You gotta be up in the morning, gonna have an early night.
And you're starting to bore me, baby.
Why'd you only call me when you're high?"

Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?

Outline of music video

For the music video I wanted the visuals to fit the lyrics and general tone of the song. The idea I have for the music video is pretty similar to the official music video but that is coincidental because the music video is too about the lyrics, about a man under the influence of a substance,trying to text a girl. i want the video to follow the lyrics of the song and really have a narrative,similar to the official music video, but one perhaps in greater detail. possibly being more influenced by their earlier punk/rock image rather then their more adult, rock image they have now. as, just like the Arctic monkeys earlier music videos, i want this video to be grittier and have a sense of realism and bitterness to it. 

music videos,conventions and Techniques

style: In concert and as live performance

in concert and as live performances are, as the title suggests music videos which consist of shots of bands or artists performing their music live to an audience.These music videos are live footage of the artist performing at a gig or concert. they usually consist of  tracking shots and slow pans to show the all of the band playing their instruments. i choose this video because it shows blink 182 performing live to an audience.

style: narrative and interpretive

Narrative music videos are music videos that  tell the story of the song, this means that narrative music videos have a more story driven theme that other music video and a usually a more in depth story. the example i chose was Stan by Eminem which tells the story of an obsessive fan of Eminem who is slowly driven to suicide and murder by Eminem's accidental rejection

 style: surrealist/absurd

surrielist/ unsurd music videos are videos that have a strange, bazzar or uncommon visuals that acccompany the song usually because the song itself is odd. i choose Gorilla'z 19-2000 due to the strange story the video tries to tell of the bands animated alter egos going on a very trippy road trip. the use of animation to means that the imagination behind video is only allowed to be more expressive and surreal and means they were allowed to add a gaint moose into the video.

style: impressionist

 visual music videos try to create a the feel of the song rather than what is actually happening in the song, the example i chose hotline bling by Drake uses a white set with a variety of colors filling the background changing over each other slowly. which is trying to convey emotion rather than it is trying to tell the story of the song.

style: parody


parody music videos are videos that that make fun of pre-existing music videos for fun .the example i choose is weird Al Yankovic's white and nerdy which is a parody of chamillionaire's music video Ridin' where instead of a gangster ridin' it is a nerd instead so it is parodying the gangster lifestyle for comic effect.

Allusion

 allusion music videos imply or suggest something without actually saying what it is which leaves the video to interpretation of the viewer. the example i choose was sia's Elastic Heart which doesn't have a plain straight forward narrative but leaves the story to interpretation.

Homage

homage music videos are videos that reference that an existing media text. the example i choose for this was foo fighter's long road to ruin which references hospital dramas such as ER and Grey's anatomy through the characters the band plays in the video.


style: Animation


animated music videos are music videos that are animated digitaly or through stop motion. the example i choose of this was daft punk's one more time which uses animation to show a bands performance on an alien planet.

 technique: lip sync

lip syncing is when the artist who is being filmed has to mime their song which is then dubbed over with the studio recorded version of their song, making the music video's sound quality better. the video i choose undercover martin  by Two door cinema club shows the band lip syncing as there was no way that the band could have sung the song while being filmed as their was no recording equipment on the band

Technique: editing

technique: cutting to a beat


cutting to a beat is when what is happening in the music video is synchronized to the beat of the song. the example i choose Kanye west's stronger where shots of Kanye are cut with Japanese writing which are in sync with the beat of the song.

post production effects

post production effects are when effects are added on after shooting to make the video more interesting beautiful or engaging to look at for the viewer. they are usually added on afterwards because they are either impossible to shoot without editing or it is simply easier. the example i choose Kendrick Lamar's alright uses multiple post production effects to make the video more engaging, more entertaining and funnier, and just generally make the video a more interesting thing to  look at.

 Technique: split screen

 the split screen effect is when the video is split in half usually showing two pieces of separate film shown side by side. the example i choose is Lauryn Hill's  Doo-wop (that thing) which shows New York city at two different periods of time through the use of split screen meaning they can be seen side by side.

 Technique: Chroma key

chroma key is essentially another way saying that a green/blue screen is involved where usually the artist is put in front of a blue or green screen where the screen is then manipulated in post to show multiple things such as the artist in a unique environment such as space as seen in Michael Jackson's Don't stop til you get enough

Technique: camera movements

most music videos use try to engage their audience through through the use of exciting camera movements. the example i choose was Fat boy slim's Weapon of choice which uses camera movements to keep the viewer engage and intrigued  

Technique: camera angles and shot type

lots of music videos use cinematography well to to give the audience something engaging interesting and visually pleasing to look at.The example i choose is Coolio's gangster's paradise which uses a multitude of angles and shots to create a interesting and engaging video to accompany the song

convention: miss-en-scene


miss en scene is the arrangement of scenery and the stage in the music video. the example i have chosen Queen's I want to break free use costumes such as Freddie mercury's woman clothing used to tackle issue relating to female inequality and to show the mundane and boring aspects of modern day life

purpose of music videos

In this essay I will be looking at why music videos are so popular and why they exist and what purpose they have in music. music video's origins can be found 1941, where in american clubs,bars and upscale dancing establishments, jukeboxes played closed loop 16mm reels projected short videos clips on the glass screen along with the music selected, this  lays the blueprint of what will eventually become what we know today as music videos. 15 years later Hollywood discovers the genre of music centered films, this is followed by a wave of rock an roll films such as Rock around the clock (1959) shake rattle and rock (1956)  jailhouse rock (1957).
a few years after this British television broadcasters such as BBC and ITV created a new form of television,music television shows such as top of the pops and Ready, Steady, Go! these shows would have the best selling artist of the week perform to a live audience with a summary of the week's singles. this meant that new, up and coming bands had a new platform to show off their new music and to potentially elevate them to new heights of fame and success.This idea was then replicated a few years later by american networks with TV show such as  Hullabaloo and Shindig, artists now recognize the significance that television has when releasing music, because of the role in now plays with commercial success, this leads to the rolling stones collaborating with Jean-Luc Godard a French-Swiss film director on the film sympathy for the devil, featuring music by the rolling stones of the same title.

music videos also play an important role when it comes to promoting an artists. one way music videos can promote a band would be through recognition,If the music video shows the band/artist performing, it shows you who the artist(S) are making them easier to recognizing making the band/artist more recognizable which can make the band more successful as one main factor for making a band/artist successful is fame and the better known you are the easier it is sell records and achieve success. Another way artists can utilize a music video would be to introduce a  symbol/icon that can be associated with the band, for example the band my chemical use the symbol of a spider in their music video 'Na Na Na(( Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)' to associate the song with their album 'danger days: the true live of the fabulous killjoys' in order to make the album more relevant and well known which would increase interest and possibly album sales as more people would be aware of the albums successes.

when it comes to the extensions of incomes of music videos artists are theoretically payed royalties however it is almost impossible to track how a music video is consumed so it is very hard to determine how the artists is payed, and as more and more people consume music via music videos and illegal downloading it becomes harder and harder for artists to make money from their music from conventionally selling singles and albums this means they have to turn to other means in order to make money one example of this would be touring, touring means that an artist can make money through ticket sales and merchandise sold on tour, this is one of the few sustainable ways artists can now make money due to how little artists now make from record sales.And considering artist only make between $0.006 and $0.0084 per stream on spotify touring is the only real option left for artists to make real money. this also makes it extremely for new and up and coming artists to make any money at all as they do not have the platform that older already recognized and respected artists do who have made their money pre steaming and illegal downloading and go on tours because people already recognize and artist that they love and will pay to see, this means that for up and coming artists making money is extremely difficult

to view a music videos you need a media outlet, examples of media outlets include YouTube, tidal, VEVO and pirate Bay. these are platforms for which artists can share their music with the world and for their audience to access their music. some sites like YouTube for example are free and co-operate with other platforms such as VEVO to offer people the ability to view artists work for free, however YouTube does come with ads and has to be streamed whereas their is a paid for version of this called youtubered which gives members the opportunity to watch videos ad free and to download videos to watch offline. artist do get paid by youtube as well depending on how many views they have on their videos and how many subscribers they have on their channel. however some artists such as Kanye West and Nicki Minaj no longer share their music videos with sites such as youtube as they feel there are not getting the money they deserve. in 2014 artist Jay Z started his own music streaming service tilted 'Tidal' which for the price of £9.99 offers members standard sound quality, for £19.99 it offers Hi-FI definition music videos and High Fidelity sound design this is so artist now gat an equal share of royalties form their music, depite this however titdal is not as popular as sites such as youtube or pirate bay a site which lets you download music illegal but for no cost at all. this means that with more and more free media outlets available it is becoming harder and harder for artists to make money from their music

within music videos there is a way to make money through synergy, an idea pioneered  by Walt Disney where you can grant the rights of something to be used in various products and advertisments, one of the best exaples for this in music vidoes is the beats pill by Dr Dre, the pill is a small portable music player that has been grated the rights to by various artists so that they can use it in their music videos this associates the product with wealthy, respected artists therefor making the product more desirable  and well known, which increases sales. this means that apple can use artist to sell their product which gives profit to the artist and Apple. this along with other options i stated earlier is one of the most lucrative ways to make money for artist today as they are guaranteed a paycheck form a company rather then hoping that they will make money from record sales which is an ever decreasingly difficult  way to make money.

in conclusion i believe that music videos are so popular is because they are an entertaining, mostly free way of enjoying music from your favorite artists, it also adds visuals to your favorite songs it can make music a more engaging, more immersive experience. but as music videos become increasingly popular, and more and more media sources emerge, i believe it will become harder and harder for artist to make a sustainable income from them as the more outlets there are the harder it to regulate them and the harder it is to determine royalties for the artist, this could mean that for no other purpose but maintaining relevancy in the music industry artists may stop making music videos at all, but as music video's popularity increases artist may actually depend on them for a sizable amount of income through synergy marketing or attempt to make them them exclusive to streaming sites such as Tidal, so i believe that music videos will continue to be popular but i doubt that they will be sustainable for artist to make in the near future.