Libby created a timetable for our group (which can be seen below) so that we could be organised and see when we are all free to collaborate on our work. Libby also created a group chat for us on Whatsapp so that we could all communicate as a group, allowing us to discuss and share ideas.
As a group, we have decided to do "Buried Alive" by white rap star- Logic.
Logic was born in Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1990. Also known as Psychological, Young Sinatra and Bobby.
Logic had a troubled childhood, his African-American father and White mother suffered from cocaine addiction and alcoholism. As Logic was growing up, his brothers sold crack cocaine, even to his father. Logic began skipping classes in the tenth grade, as a result he started failing every class except English. Logic's school expelled him. This gave Logic the free time to pursue his music career.
Logic has released four mixtapes and an album, "Under Pressure". He's due to release his new album, "The Incredible True Story" on November 13, 2015.
His first project was released in 2010. The project caught the attention of the CEO of the new independent music label, 'Visionary Music Group'. In 2013, Logic was revealed as an XXL 2013 Freshman. Shortly after, it was announced that Logic would be signing to Def Jam Recordings.
Today I decided to attempt to lip-sync some of the lyrics in Logic's "Buried Alive." To do this I researched the lyrics for the song on the internet, I found a script on the lyric website "Genuis" and then printed off myself a copy of them so that I could begin memorising them. From previous experiences with tasks like the 'Banana Phone Task' (where lip-sycning wasn't so successful), I knew that it's key to know the lyrics of the song for a successful lip-sync to happen.
The printed copies of the script can be seen below:
I then decided to lip-sync the song for the first couple of times ever. I set up the HD video camera in the green screen room in my school's media department, turned the display toward me so that I knew that the camera was focused on me, and proceeded to film myself. I used a mobile phone to play the song while I attempted to lip-sync the lyrics that I had printed off for myself earlier. I then compiled all of the footage onto a computer and scoured the footage for the best take. I found the take which I thought was the most successful and then placed the footage into Adobe Premiere.
In Premiere I decided to present my practise in the form of a short video which can be seen below:
I feel as if conducting practise early on will really help me when filming the actual music video as I will know the words much better and I will be able to do more takes in less time due to a better ability to lip-sync the song.
As it has been established within my group, it's clear that the hip-hop genre we have to create a music video for. There are not many well established white hip-hop artists in the industry at the moment in comparison to black hip-hop artists, however, notable Caucasian artists include: Eminem, Mac Miller, G-Eazy, Logic (our song's artist), Yelawolf, Action Bronson and Macklemore.
Below is Eminem performing "The Real Slim Shady" live while on tour in 2000. The kind of people you see at tours are typically the artist's primary audience. His audience is mainly comprised of people who are late teen up to around their early thirties. From what is shown, the majority of Eminem's audience are female between late teen and thirty, of all ethnicities. However, I expect that the audience was a near even split between male and female at the time. The audience interact with Eminem in a very positive way.
As this tour was in 2000, it would be unproductive to analyse what the audience are wearing as a lot has changed clothing-wise in the past fifteen years. However, artists commonly sell tour merchandise which the majority of the audience would be likely to purchase and Eminem's tour wasn't omitted from this.
Nowadays, music artists are moving forward with other business ventures, especially investing their time into fashion. For instance, Kanye West recently released his Yeezy Boosts in 'Pirate Black' as part of his Yeezy Season 1 collection with Adidas. The desirable shoes retailed for £130 but were very limited in number and now can only be bought on eBay for around £750. It's safe to say, hip-hop fans want to wear what their idols wear.
Artists can also have a cult-like following. For example, the picture above was compiled by a Kanye West fan
who tweeted the image so their followers could see what his latest outfit was so
that they could try and find the exact clothes or something similar.
In our lesson today, we discussed what song we should pick. Out of our selections, we narrowed them down to just two songs. These two songs we were to pitch to the rest of the class to gain class feedback on our selections.
Our two song selections were:
Logic - Buried Alive:
After listening to this song, the class came up with the following feedback:
The song sounded like it should follow a narrative.
The song has a 'very natural' sound to it and should be set in a natural landscape.
The track's lyrics reached a rather fast pace and would be difficult to lip-sync.
There are several sections of the song where there are no lyrics so we would have to clearly plan out and storyboard the idea for the video.
Steve Angello ft. Mako - Children Of The Wild:
After listening to this song, the class came up with the following feedback:
They liked the song but felt that, because the song already had a relatively successful music video, it would be difficult to change a preconceived image on the song/video.
The song's drop would require lots of editing.
In conclusion and in response to the class feedback we recieved, as a group we decided to go ahead with Logic's "Buried Alive" as we feel like we can create a video with an interesting, involving and special concept. We will use the feedback we were given and carefully try to take the feedback into account when creating the video and use the feedback in the planning process.
The lesson today, we sat down in our groups and informed each other on our song ideas.
Here are what the members of our group suggested: Libby
Ultraviolet - The Stiff Dylans:
Libby liked the sound of this song because she felt like the song is a pop song and would suit the majority of our target audience (according to the responses she received on her surveys she conducted). Libby likes the concept of this song, she feels as if the lyrics make the song easy to create a narrative for. She suggested that the video could be set on a beach and pier, using typical locations and attractions found at a beach e.g. arcade, beach.
A Step You Can't Take Back - Kiera Knightly:
Libby liked the sound of this song again as it would suit the majority of our target audience's ideals and the fact that it's a ballad suits her music tastes. Libby suggested that this video could be set in a tube station and focus on a visual relationship between two people.
Kids in the Dark - All Time Low:
Libby liked this song as it allows everyone in the group to participate in the music video as All Time Low are a band. Libby suggested that a narrative would be good for the purposes of this music video. She said that the video could be set in woods and the theme of the video should be a spooky one as the song is filled with lyrics with dark connotations. James
On Top - Flume feat. T-Shirt
James said that this song would be good because it could be a hybrid of performance and narrative. The song would require a strong character to be featured in the video. He said that the video would ideally be shot in 'urban' locations.
Crackazat - Eye Light
James stated that this song would be a good for a concept video as the song has no lyrics. He said that the song could feature many cuts as it has a high tempo. He said at finding the right location for the video would be difficult.
Children of the Wild - Steve Angello:
James said this song would be a good idea as it is one of his favourite songs at the moment. However, he didn't realise that there was already a music video for this track, therefore it would be difficult to create another image for the song which has already been created.
We have been instructed to select three songs which we personally feel would be good to create a music video for, so later on we can collaborate as a group and discuss which of our selections would be best to create a video for. Below are my three song choices and the reasons I chose them.
Beck - Dreams
I think Beck's "Dreams" would be a great song as it has interesting lyrics which could mean the video could follow a performance/narrative structure. The video's narrative could be about a woman who is sending a guy crazy. The music video would be set in and around a person's daily life, showing the link between the artist and the woman.
Logic - Buried Alive
I think Logic's "Buried Alive" would be a great song because the lyrics are very illustrative and descriptive. The music video would follow a narrative. The song has a great instrumental with sections with no lyrics which would be perfect to implement different camera shots and inspired editing techniques. The instrumental has a very 'natural' vibe to it which means nature and the beautiful aspects of it could be heavily involved.
I think CloZinger's remix of 20syl's "Ongoing Thing feat. Oddisee" would be a great song to do because the instrumental incorporates the idea of clocks ticking. The video could involve the idea of time as its main concept. The lyrics in the song also use phrases describing time. Making the video concept clear. The music video could be a narrative about two lovers who want to spend lots of time with each other and are excited by the thought of this.
California Gurls by Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg is an example of a concept music video. The music video extensively uses CGI to create a candy-land world.
The video begins with the whole concept for the video, built from CGI; a board game named 'Candyfornia' with the phrase "Face the Sugar Daddy's dice to free the queens of Candyfornia" set on a background of a sky full of pink clouds, reminiscent of candyfloss. On the box is also Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg introduces the audience by controlling a board game character in the form of Katy Perry. The camera then zooms into this character and then cuts to Katy Perry dressed in a candy-themed outfit, while walking through what is presumably Candyfornia. There are computer generated gummy bears featured in the opening thirty seconds as well.
Narrative:
If I Were A Boy by Beyoncé is an example of a music video with a narrative. The music video documents a role reversal in genders within a couple.
This video, shot in black-and-white, begins with a man and Beyoncé saying a word each individually and then 'you', 'me', and 'us' is spoken together. This sets the scene and infers to the audience that there is a history between the two people. This shows that the video follows a narrative. The video then sets a scene of the two people in the relationship where their roles are reversed. Beyoncé is the man of the relationship- getting ready for work and leaving for work. On the other hand, the man is Beyoncé- making breakfast, staying at home.
Performance:
Days Are Forgotten by Kasabian is an example of a performance music video. The video is not purely performance though as nowadays this simply is not enough to keep the modern day audience interested. Use of CGI in the form of sound waves and shaping around the instruments the band use have been implemented to make the video more interesting. The video features Kasabian playing their instruments and singing. All of the instruments used are shown within the video.
Survey:
As a group we came up with some questions to ask 32 people in order to find information to help us determine how to target our primary and secondary audiences.
SurveyHypothesis: From personal experience and stereotyping, I feel as if our primary audience will be a male audience between 16-30 and I feel as if our secondary audience is a female audience between 16-30.
SurveyResults:
My survey questions are written below with the results underneath:
Q1) What is your gender?
We asked an equal amount of boys and girls, 16 of each.
Q2) What is your age?
The overwhelming majority of people who answered the survey were between 16-25.
Q3) Do you watch music videos?
The results showed that an overwhelming majority of people watch music videos.
Q4) Do you like music videos which have stories unfolding?
The results showed that more than half of the respondents to the survey preferred a music video which had a narrative, just over a fifth of respondents said that they sometimes like a video with a narrative.
Q5) Which is your favourite music video genre, in order?
The results from this question revealed that Pop was the most popular category, followed by Dance, closely followed by RnB and Rap music.
Q6) Do you like to see dancing in a music video?
The results from this question showed that most people like dancing in music videos, but a similar number of people think that it depends what type of music video it is; whether dancing should be involved or not.
Q7) Do you like the artist to feature in the video?
An overwhelming majority stated that they prefer the artist to appear in music videos.
Q8) Colour can be important in a music video. Are you put off if a music video is in...
The majority of voters said that they aren't particularly put off by certain colours in music videos. Sepia however, did cause just over a quarter of survey takers to state their dislike for the colour's use.
Q9) Do you like a music video to have multiple locations or just one?
Over three quarters of survey takers said that they prefer music videos to be shot in multiple locations rather than just one.
Q10) Do you think a music video can detract from the music itself?
Just over 70% of voters said that a music video CAN detract from the music itself.
Q11) If yes, how?
To the voters who answered yes, the majority of people said that they felt that they don't like it when music videos are unrelated to the content of the lyrics/music.
Q12) Has watching a music video ever led you to buying the song?
Just under half of the survey takers said that watching a music video did not make them purchase a song. Half of answers suggested that a music video can influence someone to buy a song.
SurveyEvaluation:
By evaluating my results, I can understand what the viewing public really want and then make educated decisions on my own music video. Question 1 helped because when added to other information, I could determine what my primary and secondary audiences were. Question 2 allowed me to further narrow down my primary and secondary audiences. Question 3 made clear that making a music video was a good idea as the majority of the public watched music video content, with an overwhelming majority of survey takers voting in favour of a music video. By analysing Question 4, the results indicated that the majority of the viewing public prefers a music video with an unfolding narrative. With this knowledge, I feel as if creating a music video with a narrative would be a good idea. Through inspecting Question 5's results, I came to the informed evaluation that the top music video categories were as follows: Pop, Dance, RnB, Rap and Indie. Suggesting that any of these categories would be good to create a music video for, helpfully narrowing down the categories to select from. Question 6 suggested that the viewing public wanted dancers in the music video, with just over 45% of people asking for it. Just over two fifths of survey takers said that sometimes dancing would be relevant in a music video, with just over 15% of survey takers voting suggesting that dancing would be bad in a music video. Question 7 undoubtedly stated that it would be a good idea to include visuals of the performing artist in my music video, with over three quarters of voters suggesting this. Question 8 revealed that many people felt that it did not matter what effects were used as long as they were used in relation to the video so that it made sense to use particular colour schemes. One cause for concern was the use of sepia could put off some of the viewing public so perhaps when making my music video I should hold back on the use of sepia tones. Question 9's results advocated shooting in multiple locations for my music video, with over three quarter of the survey takers suggesting this would be a good idea. By analysing Question 10, the results showed that over 70% of people thought that a music video could detract from a song. This suggests to me that I have to be careful that my music video does the song justice. Question 11 when paired with this question suggests that people are put off mainly due to videos of an unrelated nature.This suggests to me to use things such as lyrically illustrative imagery in my music video.
Question 12 informed me that if a music video appeals to the viewer, it could lead to people to buy the song itself. SurveyConclusion: I have come to the conclusion that my primary audience are a male audience from 16-25 and my secondary audience are a female audience from 16-25. I have also come to the conclusion that my music video should follow a narrative. Through analysing the results of question 5, we have decided to look for songs from the Pop, Dance, RnB, Rap and Indie categories. It is clear that our music video should include some form of dancing or another similar form of performance. When making our music video it's also apparent that the artist should feature throughout. I should possibly avoid using a sepia tone on our footage as my primary and secondary audiences didn't seem to appeal to the use of that particular colour. My music video should be shot in multiple locations with lyrically illustrative imagery throughout. My music video must be engaging to viewers, the artist MUST interact with viewers through their actions and body language.
Hype Williams, or HYPE, is an American music video director, screen writer, film producer and film director of Honduran descent. Williams has received the Billboard Music Video Award for Best Director of the Year (1996), BET Award for Best Director (2006). In 2006, he was honored by MTV with its Video Vanguard Award, presented in honor of his achievements as a filmmaker, joining the ranks with people such as, Kanye West, Beyoncé, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson.
Notable videos:
Notorious BIG feat. Puff Daddy, Mase - Mo Money Mo Problems (1998):
The video begins with an introductory narrative at the beginning. The video features frequent use of the Fisheye lens which distorts the camera view around the central focus which is one of Williams' signature styles. The shots have a limited colour palate. The artists in each shot will be wearing clothes which match their surroundings. At 5:16 another style trait of Hype Williams is the use of slow motion.
Busta Rhymes feat. Janet Jackson - What's It Gonna Be? (1999):
'What's It Gonna Be' is still to this day Williams' most expensive music video. At the time, the CGI effects were jaw-dropping, costing $2.4m to produce.
Aaliyah - Rock The Boat (2001):
Williams frequently uses aerial and tracking shots which move backwards and forwards, this technique can be observed at 0:39 for instance. This music video was shot several hours before Aaliyah's tragic death.
Kanye West - Heartless (2008):
For Kanye West's 'Heartless', Williams decided to venture into the realms of animation. This shows Hype's versatile nature. William's uses another of his signature style's in this music video. Williams combines a center camera focus in West rom the torso upward and a sold colour background witha sot different-colour light being shown in the center of the background. This illuminates the actors body and makes them the most important person in each shot. This can also help give other connotations depending on the colour of the illumination.
In class we were given the task of filming various camera shots and them editing them creatively. We had two lessons to complete this task; one to film, and one to edit.
Here are the following shots that we were asked to film:
A shot through a shot - Filming someone through the display of another device.
Cloning - Mount the camera on a tripod and remain in a wide shot. Artist is filmed in different locations of the shot and then through editing, the artist completes multiple tasks at the same time.
Depth of field - A focus on a particular object that is close to the camera, while blurring what is behind it.
Reverse shot - The artist's actions are reversed through editing.
Tracking/dolly shot - Film artist singing to camera, the shot will be parallel to the action.
Stop motion - Take still shots of a narrative made from LEGO, when editing, make each picture 1 second long so the narrative looks smooth.
As I was aware that this task was more focused around the camera shots and the editing process, I decided to not worry too much about lip syncing as I have demonstrated in previous tasks that I am able to do this successfully. Of course, in future tasks with less of a time constraint, lip syncing could be easily implemented.
Here's the end result:
Upon reflection, I feel like the Banana Phone task was useful to determine what camera shots will work well in my final music video and also to encourage creativity through camerawork and editing.
I think that my shot through a shot worked rather well, however the clarity of the other shot was rather poor, so next time if I was to use the technique, I would use a clearer display.
My cloning shot didn't particularly work as the camera was moved during the process of filming, meaning that my footage did not line up accurately. So instead I decided to duplicate a separate sequence and fade each one into each other on Adobe Premier. I felt that this was a good experience to learn from though as I learnt two alternate techniques.
The depth of field shot that I filmed didn't work due to the camera's functionality couldn't enable it, so in an attempt to still complete a depth of field shot, I applied a blurring effect on the footage on Adobe Premier.
I thought that my reverse shot worked well, however I think that next time I should film my reverse shots at a closer distance and perhaps from a different angle.
My tracking shot worked really well. As I was lacking professional equipment, to give a stable shot I used a wheelchair to offer balance.
I thought that the stop motion section at the end worked well. Perhaps next time. if I was to include the technique, it would be more interesting to include more frames.
I felt as though use of the green screen worked really well for some shots as it allows for different images to be displayed. However, I think that when filming my music video next time, if I am going to use the green screen, I will make sure shadows are minimal or are not in shot as they interfere with the overall quality of the end result.
St. Louis Blues (1929) with Bessie Smith is what could be considered one of the first music videos ever. Here it is below:
The video above is from 1929 when video could only be recorded in black and white, this shows that technology was limited at the time of filming. For this reason there are no special effects. The music video is much more performance than anything else as it mainly shows the artist with their band performing so there is no narrative. The shots are mainly medium long shots. There are some tracking shots but not many. The tracking shots aren't particularly stable though.
Below is a timeline of music videos and how they have developed and evolved over time in the form of two slideshares:
Issues
As of 2014, in the United Kingdom, if a music video is considered overtly sexual, violent or explicit, they'll all be given age ratings. Music channels will not be able to broadcast these videos till past a certain time in the day.
A non-governmental organisation called the British Board for Film Classification (BBFC) is the organisation responsible for the age classification of music videos.
Technically, I listen to music as soon as I wake up. I put my favourite song at the moment in time as my alarm on my iPhone so I wake up in a good mood- well, supposedly. I will listen to music in the car on the way to school on the radio, which is usually on BBC Radio 1. I'll get to school early and then I'll listen to music off of my iPhone using earphones until school starts. I'll listen to music during most break times and lunch times. When I walk home I will often listen to music and when I get home I'll play music off of my iPhone as well.
The only times I won't be listening to music is when I'm in a school lesson or when I'm socialising with my friends doing an activity which doesn't allow us to listen to music. I will listen to music anywhere and at any time I can really if I can help it.
I usually listen to music on my own because it relaxes me. I also like interpreting the lyrics myself and understanding songs in my own way. I use music to suit my mood, so if for instance I was sad, I would play a different genre or a particular song or artist to perhaps improve my mood. I am quite an open minded person when it comes to music so I like to listen to Beats 1 on my iPhone as it features a wide range of music genres and is on air 24 hours a day with songs that I enjoy listening to.
I follow websites such as HipHopDX, Complex and Bluntiq to see what new music has been released. I use Soundcloud frequently to stream music for free and I compile all of my favourite songs into playlists which are open to the public.
An example of one of my playlists can be seen below:
UsesandGratificationsTheory Personal Identification: is when a song expresses how you feel and you can relate to it and it makes you feel better about yourself. For instance, when I get frustrated with something I will listened to a mellowed song to chill myself out. Information: is when as song teaches you something which you didn't know before. For instance, by listening to Meek Mill's diss track "Wanna Know", I learnt that Drake was urinated on by fellow rapper, Q-Tip. Entertainment: is when someone listens to music for self satisfaction because of the particular song, album, genre or artist that they're listening to for instance when I listen to a new song from an artist I like, I am usually very happy. Social Interaction: is when songs are played and shared at social occasions such as when I'm with my friends and we're playing music from a speaker via Bluetooth and then I have found a good song so I tell them about it.
