PLANNING: Costume Ideas

We have a few ideas for costumes but our main idea is to go for the autumn/winter look, so woolly jumpers, boots, scarves, coats, hats

Ellie Goulding 'Your Song'

Girls Aloud 'Whole Lotta History'

The Saturdays 'My Heart Takes Over' 

In music videos the outfits are extremely important so we don't only want to use casual clothes. We want to outfits to look like something you would wear in a music video so we want to get a kind of prom dress or some thing dressy.

Obviously we don't have much of a budget so we are aiming for something along those lines. However i came across a skirt from Bershka which only cost £19.99 and gives the same floaty effect which we want when the wind blows. 

As you can see in the pictures we can make it look elegant and casual just by changing the accessories which is something we can definitely look into and we will be saving money.

Planning: Location Filming Permission

I sent an e-mail to request filming permission for the Royal Parks. The woman who replies provides a link for an application form, but their is no such link. There is a section of the website that states that you must inform them of how many trucks or vans we will use, the type of equipment, what and where we are filming and the duration. As soon as I read trucks or vans I automatically assumed this was mainly used for big productions, and to be honest we are only going with a small camera. We will try and contact someone else who can give us a working link and actual information.

As it is a small production and their is no rules stated on the website that their is no filming permitted whatsoever then we will go ahead and film. Also, many people take their video cameras to film their kids playing or a party or gathering at the park, and there has not been any issues as far as I know.

A couple of months ago I did a bit of research into the use of cameras and camcorders in public places. The law states that we are allowed to use them to photograph or film only if for personal use, e.g. family album or family video, but not for the purposes of making money. So as long as we don't charge people for seeing or downloading it then we are within our rights. The police or authorities cannot stop us, but if they believe that we are using this for terrorist acts and other crimes then they can confiscate our equipment for review but are not allowed to delete anything or keep it. I have done research through the Internet and found this stated on many websites, one of which had a link to the official authorities documents. One of the sources of this information was from an article I read on The Times Online by Richard Woods who spoke about the issues for photographers when taking pictures in public places, and included laws and advice on doing so. 

Email sent to Royal Parks

Response to my e-mail

While doing a little bit of research I found that the artist Shakira had recorded the video for the song 'Loca' in the streets of Barcelona without having asked for filming permission.

Planning: Possible Props

Glitter

Glitter, used in the UK Music Video of the song 'Stary Eyed' by Ellie Goulding. We thought maybe she could have some in the palm of her hand and blow it in the direction of the camera, obviously protecting the camera lens with something like acetate paper.

Jewellery

We could include quirky jewellery that we could maybe purchase from somewhere like Topshop, which is a brand/shop we included in our mood board.

Light-up Balloons

I recently thought about the kind of props we would need for our music video, and I thought of incorporating a balloon. But not just any balloon, this one has a light inside. I think it would give the artist a sense of innocence.
Also, I haven't really seen it in any music videos, but it may have been used before. I do doubt it though, I think this is a fairly new product. But nonetheless, it's not something that is often seen in music videos so I think it might be good to incorporate something new and unique to our video.

Outfits

There are different kids of outfits we could possibly include; something quirky like the one on the right worn by Ellie Goulding, or the one she is wearing below, which is quite a simple and casual outfit. Because our music video is set in a field I think it would be good to use something like the second outfit, or maybe big Christmas-style jumpers.

Other Props 

Wheelbarrow where we would put all the frames in and the artist would be seen wheeling this through the field and to the tree where she will hang up the frames.

Frames 

Wellington Boots 

PLANNING: An Idea For Editing

I was watching a music video by Florence and the Machine and got an editing idea. Throughout this video there is a lighting effect that I think will be nice to incorporate into our music video; it is an effect that is given by sun rays.

I looked for a tutorial video on YouTube for how to add this effect on Final Cut Pro and came across the video below, it looks very straightforward, so if my group to use this lighting idea I will ude this tutorial to teach myself how to integrate this effect in our video.

PLANNING: Editing Ideas

As a group we have come to the conclusion that video will be an example of amplification were know and again what you see on screen relates to what is said in the lyrics. For example at the very beginning of the song the lyrics say 'tread floors you don't fall through' and we thought that then we could have a close up of the artists feet walking in the grass. In Skylar Grey's 'Invisible' the lyrics say 'even when i'm walking on a wire' at 1:00 she steps down on to walk on a plank suspended by a rope in mid air. I think this idea is very effective because it shows that there is more connection between the song and the video.

Another idea of ours is that in the chorus the lyrics say 'we'll watch the buildings turn to dust' and we thought that we could hold up a picture of  were some buildings used to be and then remove the picture and the building has gone; and the place that we have thought of going was to St Edwards Homes which is in constuction in Kensington High Street and before it used to be the home to HM Revenue & Costums.

This is what it used to look like.

And this is what it looks like now

Also for the line 'a sky of diamonds just for us' we thought of blowing glitter at the camera BUT we would protect it buy putting a sheet of clear acetate in front of the camera.

PLANNING: Editing Ideas

My group and i have a lot of ideas which we probably have to narrow down, and our motto has turned into 'better to have more ideas then less'. One of our many ideas is to edit some clips so that it seems like the artist is reminiscing like in Ellie Goulding's 'Your Song', our source of inspiration.

As you can see the shot has a sort of film grain effect and at the top, in the video those colours flicker which look like old footage.

Also i found an example of this in the music video 'Iris' by Goo Goo Dolls where at some points the camera starts to flicker which gives a type of old effect which makes it seem like the footage is old, hence the idea of some of our clips looking like memories. The flickering that im talking about occurs from about  1:54 to 2:00 and other times throughout the video.

Planning: Short list and shots of potential locations

We have made a list of potential filming locations. All are easily accessed, and ideal locations to film our music video.

-Holland Park- 

Japanese Garden

-Bluebell Forest-

- Richmond- 

  

Pembroke Lodge

 Isabella Plantation

King Henry's Mound

Old Trees

Wildlife and Pond

-Old London Bus-

-New River Walk-

-Portobello Road- 

Planning: Ideas and edits for music video

Grenade by Bruno Mars

Today were discussing the ideas for the music video and how we are going to start it off. What we thought of is that we should have one main story, a girl walking through a field and/or different places to get to this one tree were she will hang up lots of photographs. She will go through the field/other places pushing a wheelbarrow and with the picture frames and other tools inside. So the story of the video is that she travels all that way to do reach the tree and hang up the photographs, but the audience doesn't really see how it looks or what it is till the last couple of shots or seconds in the finished video.
This idea is a little like Bruno Mars' with the video for the song Grenade. He pushes a piano across town to get to the house of the girl he loves/likes and to play for her, but when he finally gets there he finds she is with someone else. Its the concept that the artist is working towards something in the video. We will also be cutting to other clips/scenes in ours to make it more interesting.

PLANNING: Analysis of 3 Music Videos That Have Influenced Our Final Planning Decisions

1. James Morrison – I Won’t Let You Go

We liked the idea of our artist lying on the floor with a guy as it articulates unity and closeness, and considering the fact that our chosen song is about love I think that unity and closeness is something we should definitely depict in our music video. From 2:55 to 2:59 it shows the artist (James Morrison) lying next to a girl and it communicates a sense of intimacy between the two. I liked how the girl lying on floor is shown in a bird’s eye view, so when we film the part where our artist and the guy are lying on the floor I think we should show them in a bird’s eye view. I like to use of slow motion that is employed throughout the video; I would like to use this idea in our music video too.

2.Ellie Goulding – Your Song

The idea of our artist being in forestry surroundings appealed to us; primarily because nature is something that enforces love to some extent which is something we need to implement. In this music video the artist (Ellie Goulding) is mainly wearing warm, autumn colours which is something we would like to include in our music video. I also like the use of the many close ups as it displays her emotions; this is something I think we should adapt for our music video. And I am also partial to the effect of the camera going in and out of focus, like from 1:00 to 1:04, it is attention-grabbing and is something that will be good to incorporate into our video.

3.Avril Lavigne – When You’re Gone

I really like the idea of holding the camera by hand to deliberately make it look handheld when we have a close up of our artist singing, which is an idea I got from this music video and is shown from 1:03 to 1:06. In the video, from 3:35 to 3:39, it shows a girl carving the initials of her and her boyfriend on a tree and then resting on the tree; although this idea may seem really cliché I like it as it depicts love which is what our chosen song is about. We also decided to make our artist wear a dress while she is singing in a forestry surrounding, like the artist in this video (Avril Lavigne) is wearing as it connotes freedom and devotion to some extent.  

An Article I Read About the State of the Music Industry...

I was reading articles that discuss the changes in the music industry and came across an interesting article on MTV.com . . .

"Canadian band Stars experimented with posting their recent album online for download months before it hit store shelves and, just a few albums into their career, the Kaiser Chiefs suggested this year that they might give up putting albums out entirely in favor of releasing only their best songs digitally as they record them"

. . . This change in the music industry have taken a toll on artists who are trying to find different ways to make a profit. And it's interesting to see the different things artists are doing, such as making their album available for download before it "hits store shelves".

PLANNING: Risk Assessment.

Whilst filming our music video my group and i will need to carry out vital safety precautions.

- Weather conditions;

The weather can affect us in many ways. Firstly if it unexpectedly starts raining the equipment can potentially be destroyed also one of us may slip and harm ourselves.To avoid this we can always check the weather before hand or go prepared with umbrellas and suitable shoes and clothing.

- Location;

We need to be able to film in suitable locations, we shouldn't go too wild and try to copy other videos and attempt to film under water or climb up a tree. This would be a crazy and unsafe thing to do as we do have limited equipment and are not 'professionals' so a really important factor to keep in mind is having a safe location. Furthermore If we need permission to film in a certain place, we need to seek permission to do so.

- Travelling;

While travelling on public transport, because it can get very busy we should be wary of our bags; make sure we don't lose them or lose equipment. In addition we may be travelling to places we don't recognise so it is extremely important that we don't get lost.  To prevent this we can go prepared with maps printed from the internet.

PLANNING: analysis of artist website

The purpose of the website is to sell Ellie Goulding and her music and this website does so by having a link to pre order her new album 'Bright Lights' and her latest single 'Your Song'.

 

Then like most artists websites comes a bit about the artist. Thee isn't too much about her because as she is a british artist and we know her well there is no need for her to write a long paragraph about herself. Whereas the american website has a very long biography about her because a lot of people may not know her that much and the long bio helps them get a feel of her.

The videos section is mainly videos of her performing live so that fans that couldn't see her can still watch her perform. The USA website however is more based around promoting her on shows and getting her known.

As soon as I went on Ellie Goulding's website I saw that there was a very personal feel to it. The UK site was very fan base orientated with features such as Ellie Cam and the videos and images that are on the website are mainly for the fans to keep up to date with their favorite artist.

 

The images on the UK website are based around what Ellie gets up to everyday so that her fans can keep up to date to what Ellie is doing and what she does apart from her music and also behind the scenes access like the shooting of her videos.

Basically the main aim of her website is to let users know where she is available on, like twitter, facebook, and youtube, where you can buy her music from and promote her in the best possible light by aiming her UK website at her fans and the USA website at getting her known.

Planning: Ideas and edits for music video

Mumford and Sons- Winter Winds

Mumford and Sons are one of the artists/bands we included in our Mood board, because we believe that they are the kind of band that Ellie Goulding fans would possibly listen to, and also because they are from the same genre/style of music. While watching this video I saw a few links to Ellie Gouldings videos, she likes to have a lot of hers set in forests and fields. We really liked that idea to incorporate in our music video, and specially from 0:12 to 0:17 and from 0:24 to 0:36, the idea of watching through the field and use of an instrument, more specifically the guitar. From 1:22 to 1:25 (and repeated in other parts) throwing little bits of paper or glitter, also done in Ellie Goulding's video 'Starry Eyed', was something we thought of including.

PLANNING: Examining the Website for the Original Artist

Artist websites have a sole purpose; to promote the brand image and their songs, the Ellie Goulding website does exactly this. As you can see, on top left hand side it shows many different ways to keep up to date with the latest news involving Ellie and her songs, including YouTube, Myspace, Facebook and Twitter. Also on the top there is a music player which plays of three of her songs with a link below it directing you to iTunes to buy her album; a good method of promotion for her album. The use of the music player also makes the exploration of the website more interesting.

I noticed how the two most important things are on the top; the album promotion and the different social networking websites that Ellie is promoted on. The interface is very good and easy to use which is vital as it needs to be suitable for a wide range of people.

There is a page called ‘Tour’, this is a good way of endorsing the tour she will be partaking in and therefore increase profits which is important considering the current state of the music industry. The ‘News’ section is beneficial as it gives her more publicity and announces information about the events she is attending, her interviews, shows she will be performing on, etc. Also, below each news update there is a button saying ‘Share This’ which is a good method of free and easy advertising. Another good promotional tool that has been implemented is the ‘Free Download’ section which allows you to receive a free download of her song ‘Wish I Stayed’ in exchange for you signing up to the website, this will boost sales as it endorses her album.

Planning: Ideas and edits for music video

In the previous post, the analysis of three music videos that have influenced some of our decisions, I mentioned the idea of having the artist hold photographs the same or similar way that this artist does it in the video below (for the song 'Fit but don't you know it by The Streets).

The Streets- Fit but don't you know it

I spent two months in Egypt during the summer so I spent some time checking out other types of music videos to get a few ideas before starting A2. Music videos all have the same purpose; to promote and sell the artist and song, and create the artists image. I found that they were all more or less the same as the ones I usually see (by british/american artists) but at the same time a little different with influences from religions, traditions, and culture of the countries the artist is from. But having thought of maybe incorporating the idea of white card with lyrics or possibly photographs, I remembered this song by a new and upcoming artist (in Egypt), Hamza Namira.

Hamza Namira - Insan (Human)

Planning: Analysis of three music videos

We haven't exactly planned out our videos and its content, however, we do have some sort of ideas. There are particular things/parts from certain music videos we would like to incorporate somehow in our own work. 

Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues 

This music video actually consists solely on this one guy with lots of white cards with lyrics written on them. He basically just throws the white card on the floor as the lyrics that are on the card are sung. 

We thought that possibly we could have a the chorus on card and get many different people to hold it, and get the perfect framing, so that all the people stand in the same spot and have the same amount of space all around them.

The Streets- Fit but don't you know it

We liked the idea of holding white card with lyrics on it but I also thought that maybe we could have photographs like this artist does in his music video. 

Because she is also singing about her and someone else (presumably a guy), we could have pictures of them together (without looking to clique or cheesy). I think this is a way of telling a story through three ways; the song, the pictures (that she would be holding in her video), and the video itself. 

 

Ellie Goulding- Your Song

Well this song was the one we wanted to do at first, but after having thoroughly thought about it we decided it would be best to go for another song knowing how big this song actually is (originally sang by Elton John, and covered by Ellie Goulding, and both of them having done a music video for it). We wanted to incorporate warm colours and forest-like surroundings. 

*(yet to be finished)

PLANNING: Analysis of 3 music videos

The first and main video that has influenced us is Ellie Goulding's video for 'Your Song'. It is very much the kind of video we want to shoot. The video is set around the same time we will be shooting our film which is autumn and the colours and costumes are very similar. Also the setting is similar to the one we want to use, such as forests, fields, parks and generally in nature. The difference between this video and our one is that our will follow more of a story, or so we have planned for the moment at least. We also like the way this video is edited because there are a variety of shots and sort of 'flashbacks' which is something we want to develop.

We have had the idea of using cardboard signs sometimes in our music video and i am thinking it might be a good idea to have a few quick signs in the background to establish the verses and chorus like Wiley's 'Numbers in Action'. The way that The Saturday's 'Notorious' video applies this idea is were i though of the idea.

Another one of our many ideas is to go on an old fashioned route master bus and film some shots on it like the  and also by the river Thames. In the video 'For Tomorrow' by Blur and Adele's 'Someone Like You' both these scenes appear in them. It is also nice the way that both the videos are in black and white and we could possibly film some shots like that.

 

 

PLANNING: copyright clearance

we have requested copyright clearance for a number of songs yet none of them have responded to us. As we are on a tight schedule we will continue with our music video without the copyright because we simply have no choice.

 

Planning: Artists Website

The Ellie Goulding Official Website: 
(click on the link above to visit the website)

Here are a few screen-shots from her website and fan pages

I took a look at Ellie Goulding's Official Website. Here is a video of what I found:

Ellie Goulding has two websites, the one with the completely black background is her British one, and her American website is the one with the beige background. The layout and the colours of the website are the only things that vary, the content is mostly the same. She has divided her website into different sections:

-About- Just about her

-Videos- Music videos and just clips of her at concerts and doing covers or video messages to fans.

-Ellie Cam- Music videos and videos of her 'out and about' e.g.Ellie Runs (Nike)

-News- Some stories about her or things she might want to inform general public/fans of, e.g. other artist joining her tour or interviews.  

-Gallery- Pictures of her fans and her.

-Tour- Her tour dates.

-Forum- Fans discussions about Ellie.

-Store- To purchase her songs and/or merchandise.

Then below there are links to her social network fan pages like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube and Spotify accounts. There is also a link to the US website.
She has 'Share This' and 'Follow Ellie' buttons to make it easier for her fans to share her music and interact with the singer. She also advertises the 'Nike' brand, with the famous tick and above it written 'Ellie Runs'. You can also play her songs while you are going through her website. The website has her name printed in big letters and lots of photographs of her to promote her image/music.
They also have a promotion, if you sign up to the newsletter you can get a free download of the song 'Wish I Stayed' - http://elliegoulding.com/register/

Planning: Original Video

Well for the song we are using, Ellie Goulding's 'I'll Hold My Breath', there is no actual video. We had chosen this song because we knew there was no music video for it which would make it easier for us to go down any path in terms of creativity. The problems with songs that already have videos is that, if someone watches the actual video they are very much influenced by it, and tend to do something similar or easily linked to it.

PLANNING: Audience task

RESEARCH: skills audit

Back in AS I did not carry out that much research compared to the amount that we are doing this year. Since the start of this year my group and i have been very much in agreement and we are very well organised as we have thoroughly research every step like potential locations, costumes and props. However last year i feel that we were less organised and did much less research because, personally i was less passionate, were as this year i am extremely excited about the whole idea and can't wait to get stuck in.  During that year i learnt the basic skills which i can apply in greater depth this year.

Planning: Ideas and edits for music video

I saw this advert a while back on TV and thought it would be a great idea for a music video. Maybe not use the exact idea, but if you have a lot of different people individually singing the chorus (and they could all possibly wear the same t-shirt or just different plain colored t-shirts). I think it's quite a clever thing to use with the beat of the track or the chorus. 

You could use that idea the same way the camera films one of the artists in this song is shown in 1:43. The shots jumping back and forth from his face to the handle of the bike. This song is called 'The Bike Song' by Mark Ronson and The Business Intl.

Research: Skills Audit

For the As thriller, my media group didn't really do as much research as we probably should have done. And although we worked well, research is still a very important part and hence why our thriller opening clip didn't go as well as we wanted it to.

I think for the A2 course I have done a lot more research, and specially because I actually enjoy it and I'm very much interested in what we are doing or set to do. Having spent most part of the summer watching music videos, and not only by British artists, I have a better technical and creative understanding of music videos and of the industry in itself. I have already started doing research from the start of the year, and will continue to do so throughout the project in order to have a very good understanding and creative ability for me and my group to produce a good level music video, and for me to gain more knowledge for future reference.

Research: Copyright Clearance

As I was not able to contact record labels for permission as my summer work.
I will be posting the letters that the rest of my group have sent.

- Alia Haggag

- Judith Sanchez Martinez

Unfortunately my fellow peers did not receive any replies so we are going to have to continue without clearance.

Research: Best Example of a Music Video!

'TELEPHONE' By Lady GaGa ft Beyonce

I think 'telephone' by Lady GaGa and Beyonce is one of the best examples of a music video.Not only does it promote the song but the fact that the video is extremely enjoyable to watch you start hearing the song over and over again. I think the fact that Lady Gaga adds weird elements to it which complements her 'style' really establishes the artists image (which is a focal point of a music video. Also speaking of enjoyment of this music video, it has 123,075,612 views!!!

I particularly like when Gaga has the cans in her hair it really enables the viewer to distinguish what type of artist Lady Gaga is, which I think is a really vital purpose of a music video.
[to establish the artists image]

This also is another scene which enforces the 'unusualness' of Lady Gaga and her videos. Her sense of style and image is portrayed through her music by the creation of her music video.

The fact that Lady Gaga features a world known singer in her video Beyonce is likely to attract a wider audience thus more people will hear Lady Gagas song and become familiar with her.

Camera Angles, Edits and Mise en scene..