Preliminary Excercise: Warren Holmes- I Need Your Pain

In the last week we have produced our first video of the year. The short video was produced to practise lip syncing and I have to admit it was harder to do than I first thought it would be. We had the track "I Wont Forget You" , a song from a past students music video. Although we have a male lip syncing a females lyrics the video was reasonably good, we managed to film the first verse and chorus from three different angels and then tried to put them together when editing.


There have been a few changes in our 6th forms Media department since last year; andthe most impressive of changes is the upgraded editing software: Apple's Final Cut Express. Final Cut Express is significantly more complex and advanced than our previous software (IMovie). The purpose of the lip syncing attempt was to make us discover the many options and effects that are available on Final Cut Express

What Is A Successful Music Video?

In the current media climate because the way we consume music videos has changed so has the criteria we use measure a videos success. As the Internet has evolved sites such as YouTube, Itunes,Myspace and LastFm have become big players in the music industry and have achieved a large fan base. Music Videos are now judged as a success through;

• The number of YouTube views the videos receives


• The number of Itunes Downloads it achieves


• Record sales (although downloads are more popular)


• Big awards such as MTV's Video Music Awards (VMA), The Mercury Prize and NME Music Video Awards.

The xx Crystalised

The xx are a new alternative band whose music could be mistaken for ambient background music. Most of their tracks have mellow low tone vocals accompanied by a sightly more upbeat base. The xx have been called "Britain's new favorite band" in the current media as they have recently shot into the music charts with their first album simply named The xx. The xx recently picked up the Mercury prize and the £20,000 prize for their hit album "xx"



Mise En Scene:
Most of their tracks have mellow low tone vocals accompanied by a sightly more upbeat base. The video for the single Crystallised from the album The xx does not involve any movement from the band or does not follow any story. However the background constantly changes and moves. The background is projected on to what must be a plain white painted wall or a blue/green screen. This effect gives the video a unique and interesting feel that most other alternative bands fail to produce.

Cinematography:

Throughout the video a majority of the scenes are slow panning shots focusing on the band members faces, the instruments and the band all togeather. The lighting produced by the projected background creates some the perfect lighting for a few deep focus shots of instruments . The video has a calm but fast paced feel to it and although it is simple and uneventful it is still enjoyable to watch.

Below is a link to an article about The xx wining the mercury prize:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts011224473

The Purpose of a Music Video

Music Videos are produced for many different reasons; from self publication to artistic statements, big egotistic artists take the concept of the video more seriously that the music itself. The first music video burst on to television with "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggels and from then onwards artists have changed the way we consume music. Music videos were created to:

• Promote a single or album


• Promote a product which is appears in the video


• Create an artistic statement


• Promote a film in which the song features


• To attract a wider online audience, who may watch the video without understanding the song (YouTube)

The one artist of the modern day music industry who puts a lot of thought into her music videos is Lady Gaga. However her concept is simple; wear something odd and dance, her career is built on her music videos, because after all she is not a powerful impressive singer, just someone who has used image carefully and got extremely lucky. Her first video Pokerface shot her into the spot light because of her odd dress sense and the semi-graphic scenes of her covered in men. Lady Gaga did seem to have her own "unique" feel when compared to other artists in the same genre but in a mainstream industry when her image is analysed has borrowed her look from multiple people. Although not everyone likes Lady Gaga everyone knows her, this is how image and representation in the media thought music videos can work to promote an artist.

Using a Camera and a Tripod

In the last few weeks our project has taken some big steps. We have now filmed and are finishing editing Preliminary exercises, but before we could film we had to learn the basics of how to use a camera and a tripod. The camera was fairly simple to use, the only task that required any thought was removing the tapes. However the tripod was more complicated. The tripod is made up of three expendable legs which balance and stabiles the camera. The camera its self is attached to a removable plastic stand and screws in to place using a small bolt to attached to the thread, which is already built into the camera (and most cameras on the market today.) There are a few handles on the tripod, which are used to position the camera to make sure it is level, and to extend the camera to improve its height and range.

The camera and tripod was simple to use however making sure the camera was level was a harder task, after filming a few shots once we watched our film on the computers it was obvious that the camera was off center and unlevel. We were told to look through the camera at a doorframe to make sure its lines appeared vertical on the camera.

Requested Music Video Track

In the past week I have continued looking on websites such as; Myspace.com, Unsigned.com, LastFm.com and FreePlayMusic.com while browsing on Unsigned.com I came across a band called Atlantis from Little Rock Arkansas in the United states. The band have a powerful lead singer called Paige LeFluer whose vocals standout while not overpowering their songs, I enjoy their music however they slightly remind me of the American band Paramore. Their demo track Signs was quite impressive, I like the bass and the change of pace attracted me also the song was just over three minuets, which is the time period recommended by our teachers. I sent the band a message over MySpace to ask for permission to use their song.

Survey

Today I created a short survey to obtain some information on the music video market. We will use the results to guide us when making the video. The link below will take you to the survey homepage. I created the survey using the free websire SurveyMonkey.com

Click here to take survey

Finding Tracks: Last FM

In the past few days i have been browsing free music sites for tracks to use in my music video by unknown artists. My plan is to find four or five decent tracks which i can see my self using and then send out emails to the artists requesting permission. I am currently feeling confident that an artist would agree to let me use their track in my music video, but you can never speak to soon!