Possible Future Issues: Filming Inside a Car

We are currently creating drafts of our storyboard for our music video and we are planning on using a car for a considerable amount of shots, we aim to film a few scenes from inside the car but the majority will be from the outside. Within the next two weeks will attempt all the angels and in car shots we wish to do to see the likely hood of the shots being of a high quality. With the ideas and plans we have any poor shots could ruin the quality of our video.

While i was researching online on how to film safely inside a car i came across a number of blogs which recommended using a small "fire wire" or a webcam mounted on the dash board or windscreen, however due to the lack of budget we cannot afford a fire wire or a mounted webcam so we will have to make sure the shots we produce inside the car are of a high quality.

Making the Most of Available Locations

While searching for well known videos with low budgets on YouTube I came across another Bombay Bicycle Club music video this time it is "Always Like This". The video makes excellent use of simple locations, something which we will have to do because of the lack of budget. During the video the band are playing at a bus stop, in front of garages, in a park, on a high street, in front of a row of houses, in a car park and in front of a ice cream shop.

The video has a homemade feel which is emphasised by the stop, pause and play logos on the top left corner as if the audience was viewing it through an old camcorder, also the framing is changed to make it seems as it is being watched on an old TV. They play around with reversing and fast forwarding the characters playing the instruments while moving side to side which creates an odd interesting effect. The video for Always Like This was the first thing that put Bombay Bicycle Club into the charts and gave them an impressive fan following. The video is a quirky introduction to the band which gives them some originality while also creating the video on a low budget.

Below a link to the video Always like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qkj62rkbrm&ob=av2n

Bombay Bicycle Club: Evening/Morning

Apart from having a great sound Bombay Bicycle Club have some interesting videos with simple but effective ideas. The video Evening/Morning is one that i am interested in particularly; the video has an odd them that doesn't really make sense but it is enjoyable and fun spirited. What i like in particular is the deep focus in the opening scene of the "Panda man" sitting on the bench, this year with the use of high definition cameras I believe we can make some very high quality scenes if we use natural light correctly. The problems we experienced last year were due to poor light conditions because we started filming approaching sun down at around 6pm, for this years project for outside scenes I think because of the time of year and the mood of our song we should start filming around 5pm to catch the autumn sky's sun sunset. The scenes we plan to shoot outside involve our main character driving or being driven down a country/forest one way road which is covered by tall trees on each side. I think this will create a conditions good effect because there will be light shining in between the trees and due to the autumn the orange/brown leaves will off set the trees and bring some colour to our scene.

I also like the semi-slow motion scenes which make up a majority of the video, however I am not sure if the character is moving slowly or the film has been slowed down, obviously I know that the two men chasing him are over exaggerating every step to add comic effect. However the lead singer Jack Steadman seems to be lip sycnhing in real time. I think the slowed down effects emphasises the location and colours within in the scene although they are plain and dull you notice them more.

The band scene where they are playing the instruments is also interesting the use of stop/start jump shots gives a simple but unique feel, the band are wearing bright colour clothing and as it jumps from shot to shot they have exchanged clothing, this is another simple but effective idea which can bring colour and a fun feel to a music video. Also i like the fact that they are in front of what seems to be a garage with no one there but them. Gig scenes with screaming fans appear in too many music videos and have no real effect unless it is a parody, yet again another simple but effective idea. Evening/Morning is one of my favourite music videos by on of my favourite bands and with different ideas than most artists their videos portray them in a different way than other similar artists.

Progress!

Today we received an email to confirm the use of I Ran You Down by Tweed. We had previously been granted permission to use another of Tweed's songs "The Better Part of Me" however when we had listened to it a few times we thought that we could not do much with the song due to its heavily emphasised chorus.

Today we received an email which contained the lyrics and an Mp3 copy of the song, and once we had printed out multiple copies of the lyrics we each began highlighting strong lyrics, turning points in the song and parts where we think it will be suitable to lip synch. After five or so minuets we began drafting rough storyboard ideas and came up with some impressive scenes. At the moment the story of the video involves the main character who will be a male, realising his partner has left or cheated on him and he is trying not to let it get to him. He goes out driving and through out the song the key turning points make him realise that he is better off without her. We have many ideas for the ending but at this moment in time the main ones are; she wants him back but he drives past her in the car and moves on, or that he simply finds someone else and is happier.

We made solid progress today and have many ideas for shots which do not just mirror the strong lyrics but give meaning to song and gives the video a good balance, we have selected parts where we think lip synching is suitable and we don't want to just turn it into a boring four minuet band scene, we aim to balance the story with flashbacks, turning points, subtle reminders and make the most of the powerful meaning of the song.

Similar artists

Now we have permission to use I Ran You Down by Tweed, I have started to research similar artists to give me ideas to put forward to the group for the video. I have found a British artist called The Hoosiers who were the one hit wonders of July 2007 and have a similar sound and appearance to Tweed. I have researched the Hoosiers to give me ideas and inspirations of the conventions from the Hoosiers which may suit our video.

The Hoosiers are made up of Irwin Sparkes (Lead Vocals and lead guitar), Martin Skarendahl(Bass guitar and rhythm guitar) and Alphonso Sharland (Drums and percussion.) The Hoosiers are described as an English pop/rock band however they are not a conventional British band, NME puts the Hoosiers under the Odd-Rock category. I do not particularly like the Hoosiers and the main reason i have chosen to compare them to Tweed is simply because they have very similar images. I think that although Tweed are unsigned by a label they are a better artist, while looking at the lyrics of I Ran You Down it is clear that the song is based on real feelings, where as The Hoosiers lyrics are simply odd meaningless jingles.

Here is a link to the Hoosiers one hit wonder Good Bye Mr A:

hrrp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ielkqnieva&ob=av3n

Tweed

Tweed are a five piece band from Australia who have made relative success and have their album The Power Of Silence on ITunes. They consist of Oliver Jones (guitar, lead vocals, bass and keys), Artie ( vocals, guitar, bass, keys and sax), Matty C (bass and vocals), Karl (drums, percussion and vocals)and Watto (keys and vocals). We have a slight issue at the moment we have permission for their song "Better Part Of Me" however we no want to use " I Ran You Down." I Ran You Down has a slow intro which builds and builds into the chorus with great effect. The song also has a few strong lyrics such as "My hands tight on the steering wheel, I lined you up with a ton of steel."

Atlantis

In the past week we have been granted permission to use songs by three different artists; Atlantis, a Course Of Action and Tweed.Atlantis are a four piece band made up of; Paige LeFleur (Lead Vocals),Scott Weiss (Bass), Will Ragsdale (Drums) and Patrick Phelan (guitar) from Little Rock , Arkansas, USA. The song Signs has a smooth bass line which isnt too overpowering and allows the lead singer Paige's strong voice to stand out, the only problem is we would have to get a female with the right look and who would give a strong performance that complements the strong vocals.

A Course of Action

Finally the third band is an american quadrette called A Course Of Action the members of the band are; Greg Lucy (drums), John Culberson (vocals and rythm guitar), Jonathan Byrd (lead guitar) and Tony Hawkins (bass guitar). A Course Of Action seem to have achieved relative success and have toured through out Europe. There song screaming at first seem good for our video however the song stays at the same pace all the way through, and also the guitar riff overpowers the vocals.

Tweed I Ran You Down LIVE

While doing some research on our band Tweed i came across a live performance of the song we wish to use I ran you down. It is a pretty normal for a live set however it gives us more insight onto the style and possible Mise En Scene of our video.

Monatage Of Tweed Ideas

This is my montage of ideas and images that i collected while listening and reviewing I Ran You Down by Tweed, the australian four piece band we are currently seeking permission for use of their song. The basic idea is that a man is reflecting on a boken relationship, which due to the lyrics seems as the woman was the one who ended it. However it seems as the man is reflecting he realises he is better off without her and seems happy.

Four Year Strong: It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now

The video It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now by Four Year Strong is a great example of lip syncing. The video involves 20-30 fans of the band lip syncing the lyrics while walking down a street, every thirty seconds or so another group of fans come from behind them and take over the mock instruments, such as Guitar Hero guitars and blow up mics and guitars. The video has a real fun feel to it because it is obvious that the fans are enjoying the experience to star in one of their favourite bands video.

From watching the video it is clear that it may have taken many takes and planning to get all the timing right, but it seems they have succeeded in the end. The video is simple but effective; the single continues shot of the fans walking around in East London's Brick Lane looks amateur; however the fans performance makes it a fun enjoyable video to watch. The final scene where the actually band turn around and start singing completes the video and make's it what I think one of the best "fan" videos around