Weekly Reflection Post

Weekly Post

Over the past week we have concentrated on how to finalise this storyboard and put it in as much detail so that we understand it exactly when it comes to creating the video. This will help us out enormously because it allows for us to see the exact type of shot that we want for each part of the song, and it will mean the process of filming will be a lot quicker as we're not having to work out what each shot us. It has been a very slow process of drawing the storyboard and creating the animatic, however as it is fine detail it should make the actual filming process a lot easier when it comes to it. 
We have also discussed about the venue, and it is left to us now finding out when we can get everyone to come. We will have to arrange it around when everyone is available to come, such as if it is on a saturday afternoon, we have to ensure that not everyone is going to be the Leicester game as if this was the case, then it would mean that we would lose the vast of our audience because they wouldn't be able to make it. We will take all of this under consideration and look at booking the studio at today or over the next number of days once we have confirmed answers for our 'audience'. We also feel that we need to get it done on a saturday afternoon because then that allows for our 'audience' to be able to get to the location easier via the bus which maximises the chance of them getting their, and increases their reliability.
We are also in the process of arranging how we are going to get hold of all of the equipment and transport it there as this is one of our priorities, as well as making sure that they don't get damaged as apart from the bass, none of the equipment will be our own. We have also made sure that everyone in the 'band' is going to be comfortable with what piece of equipment they are playing and being up on stage.

Reflection Post... 15th - 21st A.R.

Reflection Post

Over the past week or so we have started the story board, and this has helped us both get a clear vision of what we are trying to create because we are able to see in image form of what each shot will be. Through this also, I believe that we have found how to work well as a team and to make sure that each of us are completing the tasks which we can complete well. For instance Will is designing the storyboard due to the fact that he is excellent at drawing, where as I am more comfortable with writing blog posts and updating it. 

Another thing that we have done is stated to reach the stage of seriously deciding which venue to choose. Over the past week we have made phone calls and worked out how much the venues will cost, however we have found it a struggle to be able to get hold of the Cookie Jar venue so we will be looking at trying to get hold of them over the next two days so we can make our decision by friday.

We have also looked into more detail of music videos that are similar to what we want to create, and this has helped us heavily with our story board because this also gives us a clear image of what we are trying make for our video. 

In addition, we have also gone over a risk assessment that we need to look at when creating our video. We are going to keep adding ideas to it until friday as we want to make sure we remember everything and we don't miss anything off as it is very important that we include and take everything into consideration. 

Music Video Comparison

Music Video Comparison

The music video that we want to create is a live performance style music video. We decided upon this after looking at many other music videos that use this technique. Below are a few music videos from artists that use the same genre that we are using and that also use live performance videos.

Music Video 1

Artist - Foals
Track - My Number

Music Video 2

Artist - Courteeners 

Track - Van Der Graaff

Music Video 3

Artist - Miles Kane 

Track - Taking Over 

Music Video 4

Artist - The Clash

Track - I Fought The Law

Lyrical Analysis A.R.

Lyrical Analysis

The Courteeners Lyrical Analysis

Clothing & Appearance

Clothing & Appearance

I personally think that the clothing and appearance of a band is one of the main components of what makes a successful music video as it tells you a lot about them and what sort of genre they are. Thats why you must be very clear with the appearance of the band because it may either attract people or deter them away.

With idols such as Liam Fray and Alex Turner, we have decided to use these two (and their bands) as a form of inspiration for our band. This is mainly because they both have a great sense of style which massively suits our type of genre that we are using. They both have a slick appearance about them that attracts people to them which, in a way, could make people like the music video more. We want our band to look like these role models, however we also want them to have their own personal and unique style. We also want the band to go back to the old era of "Rock'N'Roll" whilst also incorporating the classic Mod look that gives bands that extra edge about them. For the filming of the music video we have decided that we want our front man, Derry Foran, to be wearing a plain shirt, black denim jeans, suede desert boots and blacked out Ray Ban sunglasses. We came to this conclusion by researching outfits that other artists have wore in their music videos such as Arctic Monekys, Courteeners and Peace. 

Risk Assessment A.R

Risk Assesment

Back Up Locations

Back Up Locations

Lock 42 -

This would be equally as good for us as The Cookie Jar because it is small venue located in the same area that is suitable for everyone to use and travel to. As it is a small venue it helps it to become more realistic for us as a group because it will make it easier to pack it out with the 'fans' of the band there which will make it look more realistic when filming. Lock 42 also has a backstage which means we are able to film shots which are required for us to make our music video. As a backstage is key in our setting, we need to ensure that this venue's backstage at the standard we need it to be which is why we will go and visit it in the next week so that we are able to decide whether it will work. As bands such as Foals have played here in the past couple of years it adds to the incentive of us trying to create our video here if all else fails, and as they have played here it suggests that it is a good enough venue.

This video shows foals performing at lock 42 which gives us an idea of the what it would look like. The constraint to performing at this locations that it looks like the stage is slightly smaller than the other venues. However, in comparison to our video, Foals would have had a lot more equipment on stage and they have 5 band members here rather than our 4. This should result in them looking more spacious on stage when performing, but we will be able to get a clearer idea when we go to visit the venue.


Musician -


This is another small venue that is a possibility for us to film our video at due to the fact is has the right setting that we need for our video, with a small stage and backstage area. As we have been to a gig at the musician previously, we already know what the setting is for it, and therefore we know what type of stage it is and where the audience will be standing. The reason why this is an option is similar to the reasons for the other two venues. The downfall to this music venue is that it is very narrow and therefore it will slightly more difficult to film, however it would compact the audience in which would look better.

Fist Choice Location

Location

The Cookie Jar -

For the location where we want to film our performance music video, we have decided to choose The Cookie Jar bar venue in central leicester. The Cookie is a multi-purpose venue located on Leicester's High Street, as part of the well established coffee bar, The Crumblin' Cookie. Hosting a range of gigs with national touring acts alongside the best of Leicester's music scene. It is also a very understated music venue which first gained notoriety after hosting a number of annual comedy events the Leicester Dave's Comedy Festival. We have gone for this location as we believe it would suit the music video that we want to create and because it is a very good size, so it wouldn't be cramped for the band and the crowd. It is also very convenient as it is not too far away so it would be an easy trip to get there without too much hassle. The venue also provides us with a reasonably sized backstage where we can do some of our filming for the video.

Prospective Video Location A.R

Prospective Video Location

Cookie Jar -

Musician - 

Lock 42 -

Director Inspirtation A.R

Our Director Inspiration

Douglas Hart is a director whose music videos have inspired us to try and recreate something similar to his. He bases his work within the indie music genre by creating music videos for artist such as The Courteenrs, The Vaccines, The Horrors etc... Our group have decided that after looking through videos by Douglas Hart, that they are the most realistic for us to make and the ones that suit our chosen genre and song the best, some examples are:

The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now

This isn't identical to what we want to do, however there are many ideas that we want to try and add in  to our video with the live clips off and the lighting on the band. Douglas Hart has tried to show the band together but also add in moments of it focusing on the lead singer/s by using a close up on the lead singers and often using a low angle shot of them looking into the audience. 




Although our focus is on the band and showing them singing with their instruments, we also feel as though we can show some sort of performance that will relate to our chosen audience (indie scenesters) and including scenes that relates to them and their experiences so that it will appeal directly to them. For example in Palma Violets' videos for 'We Found Love' they do exactly this which makes it interesting for the viewers.

Narrative Theorists A.R

Narrative Theorists

Amplification -

We have decided to use this de to the fact that our video is going to be a performance based video with and on stage and backstage. We have chosen this theory because we believe that it suits what we are trying to make in our video, with the way that it is performance based and some of the performance represents the lyrics. We will use this especially in the chorus when Derry (acting as Liam) will be singing 'How Good It Was', and at this moment we will make the band look like they are enjoying themselves and having a good time with the crowd to try and represent what it would look like to be having a good time.  We will be aiming to use realistic approaches to what it would be like in a venue, but at the same time add in unusual ideas to try and amplify the song that we have chosen to do. 

Representations In Our Music Video

Representations

In our music video we are trying represent the indie scenesters genre with the use of the band and the audience. The reason for this is because the song is under the indie/alternative genre, we want to focus on that by using costumes that would be classed as indie, and even more so we want to create the video as whole that would be classed  as indie. To represent this, there will also need to be effort put in to those in audience, as they will need to look like they fit in to the music genre, and it will make it look a lot more realistic if you have people who would realistically be at a Courteeners gig. As we are already including equipment of the band such as guitar, bass, drums, keyboard etc... These instantly help to represent the indie/alternative genre because in this area it is what they heavily focus on. 
We want to represent this certain category because we feel that we are most comfortable and confident with choosing the correct setting and having the experience to try and get it to be as realistic as possible. 
We have chosen to set our music video at a venue such as Lock42 or the Cookie Jar because we feel that we have more chance of creating a realistic version of the song for our video. This represents our genre because nearly every artist that plays at venues like these are associated with the indie genre, and it is the most realistic and acceptable way of trying to create a video similar to the artist and what type of venue they would play at.  
With the use of the venue, the band and the audience, we are going to try and represent everything that you would see at an indie gig by working on all of these collectively. Our main focus is trying to get the band to look like a real indie band, and this is because we know that there will be many shots of them due to the fact that there will be many shots backstage of the 'band ' that will be included in the video. This is why we want to try our hardest to represent the band in a way that they would be seen and classed as indie.

Schedule List A.R.

Schedule List

Storyboard -

- We need to complete at least 6 shots a day on the story board which are all finished completely.

- By thursday 25th it needs to be complete so that we are able to finalise our idea and check if it needs to be improved.

Blog Posts -

- By Sunday 21st we need to get an idea and check for the price and timings when all venues will be available for us to use so we can choose the place that's best for us.

- By Sunday also, we need to find out for definite where we are going to get the equipment for the band that we need.

- Representations post needs to be completed by Thursday 18th.

- Relevant narrative theorists post needs to be completed by Friday 19th.

- Shots of prospective video locations needs to be uploaded by Monday 22nd.

- Risk Assessment needs to be uploaded onto the blog by the 24th.

- On the 25th/26th we need to go over everything (including the storyboard) and ensure that everything is finalised to the best possible standard.

Animatic Music Video

Storyboard A.R. & W.J.

Process of Creating the Storyboard

Blog Update

Storyboard

Due to the fact that Will is going to be completing the whole storyboard over the next week, there won't be many posts on the blog from him at all. The reason for this is that we decided together that as he is very good at Art and drawing in detail, and I have very little skill, that I would complete the blog posts for the next week and he would concentrate on the story board so that we understand what each shot will be.

Weekly Post...1st-7th September A.R

Weekly Post

Over the past week we have put together our idea of what we are trying to create our video like. We have had to put our time into researching different music videos and find out different details. For example we have found out about a music video director named Douglas Hart because he is the person who goes for that simple look but focuses on the band rather than an actual narrative. We felt  we would be interested in creating more of a performance video with the band playing rather than a narrative because it was something that we felt was more realistic that we cold try and create. We have decided to choose Oliver Dennis as the drummer for the band, however we decided not use all of the members from his band as we felt that they wouldn't suit the type of song that we are aiming to do. We have also decided on the setting which is going to be at a venue we are looking to rent out for a certain number of hours, and we will include short clips of them back stage.  

Weekly Post 7/9/14

Over this week a lot of decision and creative ideas have been made as we know what we want our music video to look like and produce. We have decided as a group to make a music video that has a similar style and approach as the director Douglas Hart as he uses a simple yet effective way of making a music video without using too much of a story and mainly focusing just on the band without other distractions. The type of video that we want to go for is a performance type of video which involves the whole band playing at a live event at a music venue. We have chosen not to go for a narrative music video as we believe that it would look more realistic to the person who is viewing it and possibly more exciting if the band were playing live. Choosing certain band members was also involved this week, and as a result of this we have decided to go with Derry Foran as our front man for the band who will be singing and playing rhythm guitar. We decided to go with Derry because he is a very enthusiastic young adult, who enjoys the sort of music genre that we are going to use in our video and uses the same sense of style as the bands that we want to recreate. As a group we have determined where we want filming location to be, in the end we all agreed on renting out a venue which has is a reasonable size and has a backstage so we can do some filming there additionally.

Music Video Final Idea

Final Idea 

After putting a lot of research and planning together, me and Alex have got an idea of what we want our final music video to look like. We know that we want the video to take place at a live venue in central leicester so we can have a sort of performance video. The venue holds around 140 people, and is great for filming and lighting. The lighting uses a lot of different colours, meaning that we have a lot to choose from, it will also be facing down on the band so they will be clearly visible to the crowd and to the camera. We also know that the music video will be filmed in the style of the director, Douglas Hart, meaning that the video will mainly focus on the band and not much else. During the music video, we also want small parts of it to be filmed back stage like in the Oasis music video, Cigarettes and Alcohol when the band are backstage smoking and drinking with women (models/actresses). We also are thinking of editing the video, after it has been filmed, to black and white so it has the effect that older music videos use. This is also another detail that Oasis have used in their music video. Because we have Derry as our lead singer, we want to mainly focus on him as much as possible, meaning that when the chorus is playing, the camera shot will be primarily focused on him. We additionally want Derry to be the focus whilst singing the chorus because it is a common convention that is often used in music videos, especially Douglas Hart's videos. Our band members age range will be 18-19 years of age as we want to appeal to a younger audience as a result of most of the younger generation are fans of the 'Indie' genre.

Inspiration A.R.

Inspiration

For our music video, we have decided to try and add in some elements of The Courteeners own music video for 'How Good It Was', however we have tried to o for a similar video to the one that Oasis have done previously for 'Cigarettes & Alcohol' because we feel this would suit the song well, as well as it reaching out to the audience. We feel as though this is also something that is realistic that we can recreate in our own version, and although we haven't previously considered putting the video in black and white, after watching the Oasis video, we decided that this might be an interesting idea so it is something we are considering as a group. 

In another Palma Violets video they also include live scenes which are similar to the type of shots that we are bring to recreate in our video. Albeit half of the video isn't relevant, but we like the concept of going back and forth to the band playing live and then another separate scene of them doing something different.






A similar type of video to 'How Good It Was' is The Vaccines 'If You Wanna. This video has aspects that we are trying to recreate in our video, with the band together and the lights going onto the band with different types of shots. We are trying to bring all of these ideas together to try and create a video that suits the song and our audience and focus on the band and them live.

Group Update

Group Update

As a group we decided it would be best for me (Ollie Dennis) to work on my own as it would be beneficial and easier for everyone in the group.  From now on Will and Alex will be working together as a pair and I will create my own blog and video on:

olliedennislcmedia1415.blogspot.com

Chosen Song

Our Chosen Song

The chosen song that we have decided to use for our music video is 'How Good It Was' by the 'Courteeners'. We have chosen this song because we believe that it tells a subtle story that would be easy to transform into a visual reality. The song also has a quick tempo and is quick paced, which means we would have to use a lot of shots with quick transactions to mach the audio to the visuals. The Courteeners are known for their 'indie' following, which shows that their music would suit our music video style that we had in mind.

Peer Group Feedback

Feedback To Peer Groups

Molly Simpson & Millie Leader's 25 Word Pitch Feedback -

Jack Green & Chloe Phillips's 25 Word Pitch -

Brad Ryan & Angus Simmons' 25 Word Pitch -

25 Word Pitch Feedback

 Feedback from Sophie Callanan -

 Feedback from Chloe Phillips -

 Feedback from Adam Chapman -

Feedback from Molly Simpson -

Judging from the feedback that we were giving for are 25 word pitch, there are a lot of ways in which we can improve and develop the planning and researching music video. One suggestion was that we need to specify the song and if there will be a story used in our music video so it is more clear to see what we want to create and the ideas that we want to get across. A way in which we could improve this is by explaining more about what we want to do with our music video and who and what are going to be in it. Feedback such as this is important for our planning and researching as it shows us where we went wrong, what was good and what we may need to add further information. 

Twitter Feed

Twitter - The Franks

Audience Research A.R

Audience Research - Indie Scenesters

Our chosen audience is Indie Scenesters, and the reason for this is they will be the ones who this genre of music will appeal to and what they will take an interest. As we are trying to recreate an indie video, it would help to base it on what the Indie Scenesters are interested in so it makes it look like a realistic indie video. We have heavily based our video around a guitar band and focusing on the guitars, the reason for this is because it is what the indie scenesters are interested in what they have a craze for. We will also have to include costumes that consists of vintage clothes, skinny jeans etc... or even trousers due to the fact that these types of clothes are consistently used in the indie industry. 
Another factor was that they support independent artists, and as we have decided upon going for a Courteeners song, this therefore lead to our decision of choosing to try and appeal to the indie scenesters. 

Examples of Other Texts

Band Members For Our Video

Band Members For Our Band

Derry Foran (Lead Singer/Guitarist) - 

We have chosen to use Derry as the 'Liam Fray' of our group due to the fact that he looks like he would fit in the indie scenesters genre. This helps us because it allows us to make a realistic music video as he fits in, as well as it helping to appeal to our chosen audience. As our aim is to appeal to our audience, we felt that choosing someone different who didn't fit that certain category would ruin the certain look that we were going for. Furthermore, we felt that this would help a lot by picking derry as our lead singer because he listens to The Courteeners already and is a fan of their work. This means that he will know the lyrics and therefore he will be able lip sync at a higher standard in comparison to if we had someone who had never heard of the song beforehand. As he is a confident performer, and our video is a 'performance' video, it goes hand in hand together because it means that he will be able to do a variety of things that we require him to do because he isn't shy.

Finn Reaney (Lead Guitar) -

We decided upon choosing Finn to be the bass guitarist because he also looks like a realistic band member of the Courteeners. He also has some experience with playing guitars which makes it easier as it won't be a new thing for him. Finn's appearance also makes him suitable for the bass guitarist as he will fit in with the band  and won't look out of place. In addition, he is also a Courteeners fan likewise is Derry which means he will feel more comfortable playing the song that we have chosen.

Will Jones (Bass) -

As will is in the group and is a bass player, we decided that it would be best if he was one of the performers as it meant he would be on the stage and it would make things easier to rearrange on stage as he would be up there. As we struggled to think of band members who would suit being in the band that we are trying to 'create', we felt that the simplest way to do this would be to just include Will in our band.

Ali Lord (Keyboard) -

At first we didn't consider having anyone playing the keyboard in the song, however after thoroughly thinking about it and listening to it, we realised that you could evidently hear it included and that it was important in the song. Therefore we chose Ali to play the keyboard as we felt that this was necessary and that he would fit in with the song and the rest of the band members.

George Cartwright (Drummer) - 

He is now our chosen drummer after changes had to be made. Originally we had chosen Ollie Dennis to be our drummer as he was in our group, however, after a group agreement we decided that it would be better if he worked on his on. This lead to us choosing George as our drummer because he fits the role and has some experience. Although the other two members both have experience in their instrument, we felt that choosing a drummer with experience was the main area we had to make sure was correct due to the fact that we want them to look in rhythm and sync with the song. Along with that, his appearance also helps to ensure that he fits in with the band look which is what we are aiming to be consistent with.

Band Members

Band Name & Biography A.R

The Band & Its Background

Band Name - The Franks 

Biography - The band members have known each other since they were all ten years old. All members of the band are from Lutterworth: Foran and Dennis attended Lutterworth College in Lutterworth, Leicester, while Finn Reaney attended Countesthorpe in Leicester, and Sam Green attended Beachump College.

At first Foran studied accounts at University, however soon realised it was a lot harder than he thought and not what he wanted to do. Therefore he chose to study Creative Writing as he enjoyed writing poetry and short stories, but not reading. While at the University of Nottingham (studying Creative Writing), Foran started performing acoustic sets as a singer-songwriter around bars and at open-mic nights in Leicester. After getting positive reactions from the crowd, Foran decided to leave University and form a band. Derry recruited long-time friend and neighbour Finn Reaney, who had never played the drums before. They played as 'Derry Foran' until Green and Dennis joined the band.

Their first gig was at the Leicester O2 Academy in October 2006, and the band went from strength to strength in Leicester and now that strength has expanded, largely through a word-of-mouth following brought on by extensive gigging and television publicity. The Franks released their debut single "Cavorting" on 6 August 2007 by Loog Records. A second single, "Acrylic" was released on 22 October 2007 reaching number 44 in the UK Chart.

Moodboards

25 Word Pitch

25 Word Pitch

Genre Of Music For Our Video A.R

Our Decided Genre

We have decided as a group to stick to the the genre that we are most familiar with which is indie. The reason for this is because we have the most understanding about this genre so we can go into more detail and will be interested in researching into more depth of that genre. We also instantly have more knowledge of this type of music video because we have all viewed them at home in our own time which means we have an understanding of the common themes that are shown in these videos. It also made it easier because all three of us are interested in this type of music, and therefore it is going to make it easier when it comes to the point when we need to decide what song we are going to be doing.