Filming Organisation For Our Coursework

How will we distribute our music video?

How will we distribute our music video?

We will distribute our music video on YouTube. This is due to it being free to upload and only needing an account to upload. Also, it is an easy medium for our audience to access and is easy to track the popularity of the video. Also, due to our low budget and lack of reputation, it would be near impossible to use other formats such as TV or other formats such as iTunes.

Distribution and impact of music videos

How are music videos distributions?
Music videos are distributed in a variety of ways, such as:

• MTV (television)
• iTunes
• Internet
• YouTube
• Downloadable content

Why are they distributed so vastly?
One of the reasons that music videos are distributed in a variety of ways is so that it covers most of the ways that the audience can access these videos. For example, if a person didn't have internet access, then without it being broadcast on TV, they will be unable to see this video, therefore the music production company will be cutting their audience. This is the same for if somebody only had internet access and not TV access, then if the video was only broadcast on TV, then they will have no way so viewing it.
 Furthermore, it is also cheaper for a music video to be uploaded online once for people to repeatedly see, than for dvds to be produced several  times for each person. This would become very costly.

What impact does a music video have on the song?
Generally, music videos are released initially when the song is first released, so that the video builds up 'hype' for the song and gets people interested, whether they are existing fans or new fans. In addition, it also gives the artist recognition along with the song that has just been released. For example, is PSY hadn't released a music video of 'Gangnam Style' then the song would have been nowhere near as popular due to the fact that the USP of the song was the video and its unique style of dance. This means that without the video then there would have been no dance, and without the dance there would be no 'Gangnam Style'.
However, some music videos have little effect on the artist and the success of the song. For example, if Adele hadn't released a music video for 'Hello' then it would be no less successful than it is now, due to the fact that the USP is the artists voice and song writing and not the performance of the video.

Narrative Vs Performance music video

What is a narrative music video?
It is a msuic video that includes a narrative story of the words being acted out in some way. This style relies on imagery to produce a story for the audience to follow. Some narrative videos include clips from films that the song has been featured in.


What is a performance music video?
It is a music video that mainly depends on the artist lip syncing the words throughout the music video facing towards the camera, so that the audience can see who is singing the song and also who the artist is. However, it isnt always the artsist that is performing, it is sometimes an actor that is acting whilst performing.

Example of a narrative music video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgT1AidzRWM&index=16&list=PL9F8AB7E351363B01



Example of a performance music video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM

Props needed (Group)

In our music video we our going to need a wide variety of props so that we can really set the scene and make it more realistic and engaging.
This is a list of the props that we need to gather for the music video:

• Vodka bottle

• Suicide note & pen

• Knife

• Schoolbag

• Lighter

• Cigarettes

• Beer cans

• Clothes to make room untidy

Equipment needed (Group)

The equipment that we will need will be:

• SLR Camera
• Mobile lighting kit
• Tripod
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Steadicam

We have used some of the equipment, such as the HD camera, tripod and Adobe Premiere Pro, in our AS production and tasks that we have been set. This means that, as we already know how to use the equipment, it will save us time in filming and editing the film. It also means that we have experimented with these pieces of equipment by filming different shots for different tasks, using different editing techniques and also keeping the camera steady whilst filming. However, equipment such as the lighting kit will have to be learned because we didn’t use it whilst filming at AS level, we will learn how to use them by asking teachers or by looking online on websites such as youtube and google. By looking up how to use these items, it will allow us to develop our skills further and that we will have the knowledge on how to use the lighting kit so that it works well in our music video.

Budget of music videos

The most expensive music video created so far has been Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson in ‘Scream’. This was directed by Mark Romanek, who also produced ‘Shake it off’ by Taylor Swift and many other top hit music videos. ‘Scream’ was released in 1995 yet still cost $7,000,000 to create. Which is $10,000,000 if you add inflation from 1995!. The video was released in black and white. This cost was due to the extremely tight deadline they were set of 5 weeks and also due to the vast amount of entourages and "assistants who have assistants who have assistants" that Michael and Janet Jackson had.


 

The average cost of a modern day music video is $200,000 to $500,000 for a large professional studio production. However, these costs depend on which artist the music video is for. For example, if a large artist such as Adele was creating a music video, then the costs would be much more than it would be for an up-and-coming artist that the production company doesn’t know if they will make a profit off of the music video created.

Institutions that mainly produce music videos

An institution is an organization that is founded for a specific purpose, in this case music videos. Examples of these are:
·         Sony Music Entertainment – The company was originally founded in 1929, yet became Sony Music Entertainment in 2008 after taking over other companies shares. In 2010, Sony partnered with The Michael Jackson Company with a contract worth more than $250 million. This is still largest deal in recorded music history. Some artists that are contracted include: Adele, Beyoncé, Christ Brown and Britney Spears
·         Universal Music Group – The company was founded in 1934, being along side Universal Pictures. It is the worlds largest music content creation company. Some artists that are contracted include: Nicki Minaj, Akon, Justin Bieber and Mariah Carey
·         Warner Music Group – The company was founded in 1958 and is an American global record company headquartered in New York. It is the largest American owned music conglomerate. Some artists that are contracted include: James Blunt, Plan B, Bruno Mars and Michael Bublé

What was the first music video?

There is no real definitive answer of what the first music video produced was. However, we do know that it was in the early 1900, when technology first started to develop and impact people’s lives.

The first music video released on MTV was ‘Video killed the radio star’ by the Buggles in 1979. This was fitting due to the song being about how video technology would soon overtake just audio alone.
Other early music videos were Queens ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. This was seen as the first ‘real’ music video in the sense that it was directed and edited for the specific purposes of entertainment. It is also though to be believed that Queen decided upon creating these music videos so that they could be aired on the television instead of them having to do a live performance if they were too busy.
Before the real development of music videos, in 1894 Edward B. Marks, Joe Stern, electrician George Thomas and many other performers created a projection of many still simultaneous images to promote their song ‘The Little Lost Child’. This was known as illustrated song, an early design of a music video.
There are many reasons behind the purpose of creating a music video, however I feel that the most important purpose was to entertain a wider audience and to also branch out to people that haven’t heard the song, but want to watch the music video. Also, in earlier times, these videos would be used as promotions on televisions and also to save the artist time of performing on a programme.

Do music videos vary on the genre?

Here we can see the variations of the conventions of the most popular genres:



Conventions of a general muisc video:

Contains a range of shots

Usually follows the artist/ actor around if they are involved in the video

Has a story to go along with the music

Contains props to enhance the users viewing

Can contain a symbolic reasoning or message in the video

Conventions of a house music video:

Tend to feature love, sexuality and things that a young audience relates to such as pool parties and drinking

Artist doesn’t tend to feature in the music video

A narrative that doesn’t always link with the lyrics

Bright colours

Upbeat video

Conventions of a pop music video:

Bright and colourful

Close ups to show cheerfulness and upbeat emotions

Extreme close ups – tends to show the purity and innocence in the personality of the artist

Aims at the teenage audience

Very upbeat

Tries to make the artist stand out by making them look different or juxtaposing their personalities

Conventions of a rap music video:

Fits the characteristics of the genre

Link between lyrics and visuals

Link between music and visuals

Close ups and motifs

Tends to feature drugs, money, women, violence and sex

Violence is usually a key theme

Breaking the 3rd wall performance

From all these different genres we can see that there are many differences, within the conventions, but also similarities. We can firstly see that the appearance of the artist/ band is very much reliant on what the genre is. For example, in a pop music video the artist tends to feature, due to its target audience of young people that will watch these videos to watch their idols. However, due to the difference in target audiences, house and rap music videos tend to not feature the artist due to the fact that the main point of the music video is a performance/ a narrative around a party/ drugs and alcohol, which tends to fit the target audience of the artist.
We can also see that the items of clothing and also props depend on what genre the music is. For example, drugs, money and alcohol dont usually tend to feature in pop music videos due to the age of the target audience, yet in rap videos they tend to feature often.

In conclusion, music videos vary on the genre greatly, mainly down to the target audience that the artist is trying to reach. For example, it would not be suitable for artists  to portray drugs and violence in a video that is aimed at children, this video instead would be colourful and vibrant.

Animatic - Eminem: Not Afraid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbcdsBMD2ys&feature=youtu.be

Editing and exporting the animatic

I decided to use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our animatic as it was the best software that would fit the task that was needed.

First of all, I had to export the song, Eminem Not Afraid, onto Adobe Premiere Pro so that I could have this playing in the background behind the post it note pictures that I would then import. By having the song imported first, it allowed me to know specificially where important parts of the song were such as choruses. I could then align specific post it notes up to the correct part of the song.

Once all of the post it note pictures were imported, I then had to size them down into suitable lengths for each shot. Although this was a lengthy process, it allowed me to roughly know how long our actualy music video will last for.

Once the post it notes are matched up to the song, I then had to export it at a high quality (H.264) so that it would look professional.Once the export was completed, it then had to be uploaded to YouTube.

Full shotlist

Shotlist

Number	Shot	Description	Time (seconds)	Location
1	Long shot	Performing on building	3	On top of building
2	Mid Shots	Different angles of performance on building-Need more than one shot	4	On Top of Building
3	Close-Up	Rapping on building	2	“”
4	Close up at different angle	Different angle of rapping on building	4	“”
5	Mid shot	Performing	3	“”
6	Close-Up	Of main actors shoes, with skyline in background	3	“”
7	Mid shot	Rapper performing facing away from camera	3	“”
8	Pan/establishing	Skyline	4	“”
9	Close up	Character walking (feet)	2	Past brick wall, on way back from school
10	High Angle Long Shot	Top Half of character with bag walking down road	4	“”
11	Over the shoulder	Protagonist walks past bullies	3	“”
12	High Angle (behind antagonists)	Protagonist talking to talk to bullies	2	“”
13	POV (of protagonist)	Antagonists look threatening	2	“”
14	Two shot	Main antagonist gets angry	2	“”
15	Long Shot	Protagonists gets pushed over	4	“”
16	Long shot	Shot from behind beating protagonist up on floor	3	“”
17	Longshot	Protagonist on floor	3	“”
18	Over the shoulder	Group laughing	4	“”
19	Mid shot	Protagonist sitting against wall	3	“”
20	Close up	Protagonist drinking vodka, from the side	4	“”
21	High angle	Foreshadow hero, walks past protagonist	3	“”
22C	Tracking Shot	Performance rapping	4	On top of building
23	Mid Shot Rapping	Performance	1	“”
24	Side on	Performance	2	“”
25	Mid-Shot	Performance Hands out	2	“”
26	Over the shoulder	performance	2	“”
27	LongShot	Performance	4	“”
28N	Mid Shot	Protagonist writes letter	3	House
29	Extreme Close-u	Picks up pen	1.5	bedroom
30	Birds Eye View	Writing letter	2	bedroom
32	Close up	Dear mum and dad	3	bedroom
33	Over the shoulder	Group laughing	4	Past brick wall, on way back from school
34	Over the shoulder	Of letter on table	3	bedroom
35	Mid shot	Flashback to drinking vodka	3	Sitting on brick wall, on way back from school
36	Close up	Vodka being smashed on floor	3	By brick wall
37	Close up	Of tears	3	Bedroom
38	Longshot from side	Slams hand on table	4	Bedroom
39	Close up	Screwing paper up	2	Bedroom
40	Low angle	Paper gets thrown towards camera	3	Bedroom
41	Longshot	Walks towards door	3	Bedroom
42	Mid shot	Slams door behind him	3	Bedroom
43	Mid Shot	Walks down middle of road.	3	Street
44	Close Up	Performance	2	Street
46	Extreme Long Shot	Walks through street	3	Street
45	Mid shot performance	performance	2	Building
47	Long Shot	Standing on building	1.5	Building
48	Mid Shot	Angry in elevator	1.5	elevator
49	Close up	Crying	2	Building
50	Mid Shot	Angry at other side of elevator	1	Building
51	Birds eye view	Standing on building	1	Building
52	Long Shot	Climbing wall	1	Building
53	Extreme close up	Punching wall	1	Elevator
54	Long Shot, Low angle shot	Mum walks into room	2	House
55	Close up	Mum sees paper	3	House
56	Over the shoulder	Mum reads letter	2	House
57	Longshot	Mum running out of door	2	House
58	Close up	Mum crying	3	House
59
60	Extreme close up	Mum crying	3	House
61	Close up	Hand shaking	3	On top of building
62	Mid shot	Hands in air	3	On top of building
63	Pan	Round front of character	4	On top of building
64	Over the shoulder	See character in background over shoulder about to help him	3	On top of building
65	Longshot	Character pulling protagonist of the edge of the building	4	On top of building
66	Match of action close up	Main actor with hands in the air	3	On top of building
67	Mid shot	Talking	3	On top of building
68	Midshot	Other character talking	3	On top of building
69	POV	Of hero	4	On top of building
70P	Low angle	Antagonist on wall	4	On top of building
71	High angle	Character sitting in corner rapping	4	Stairs
72	POV	Hands	2	Building
73	Mid Shot	Rapping in corner	3	Elevator
74	Close up	Of face rapping	3	Building
75	Mid shot	Rapping with hands out	3	“”
76	Longshot	Leaving building	3	“”
77	Close up	Walking out of building	3	“”
78	Two shot	2 snow men	3	Street
79	Extreme longshot	Both characters walking down street	3	“”
80	Two shot	Both characters walking down the street	3	“”
81	Close up	J’s stepping on glass	3	“”
82	Pan	Hugs friend	3	“”
83	Longshot	Walking out of house	3	House
84	Close up	Hugs mum	3	“”
85	Close up	Mum cries	3	“”
86	Longshot	Standing on buildiing	3	Building

Creating the animatic

First of all, we had to draw frames/shots on post-it notes. We decided to use post-it notes due to the fact that they were easy to move around the large A3 paper that we were using as a template to hold all of the shots. Not only that, it allowed us to change the order of the shots if we felt that this shot didnt match or whether it would look better in another location easily as the notes chould easily be stuck elsewhere.Once we decided on what shots were best and where they should be put, we then had to edit the animatic, which was a lengthy process.