Ancillary Task

The Poster

We had looked at tour posters in a number of magazines and seen some online, and from this we were able to see that frequently the poster included part of the album cover within it. This was so that the band was easily recognisable by fans. So it was relatively simple to come up with the idea of using the album cover and then adding a dates section on the bottom. We decided to put sold out signs on some of them as this was something that we had seen done on previous posters and so we thought it might make it look more genuine and realistic. As well as this we also included ways in which consumers could purchase their tickets as this was a common feature included in many.

 

I think that me and the group created this poster effectively and that it is a likely product that could be used to promote the band. This is due to it being simple yet containing symbols that represent what the band is about.

 

 

The album cover

The front cover for the album was simply the four animal masks. This linked the album with the music video that we had created, due to us using the masks in that. By doing this we created some continuity between the bands products which would make it instantly recognisable for fans.

The back cover was improtant for us to display the songs that were on the album. We already knew this from the majority of other album that we had seen. This allows the consumer to know what tracks are on the CD. We decided that this should be simple like the band are (due to it being just them and their instruments) however i think that the consistent use of the font made this effective.

 

The inside right cover was simply the name of the song that we had created the music cover for. This was due to it being the main song on the album and therefore the one that we would want to promote the most.

 

Ancillary task shoot

For the ancillary task we had to create an album cover and a tour poster for the band. This meant that we had to go and shoot some pictures that could be used. So that the band was recognisable we thought it best to create some sort of link between the ancillary task and the music video.
After doing some research on existing album covers, for both the band and similar artists we came up with a list of possible idea that we could use. Immediately as a group we came up with the idea of having the four different animal masks on the front cover of the album. From this we then decided that is may be quite unusual to have to backs of the animal heads on the back cover. The only issue was trying to shoot this. However with Desiree being in our production team and being a creative person she was able to photograph each one of the masks with help from me and Lauren when it came to sorting out the lighting. This was a great way to incorporate all of our skills into creating the best album cover that we could.

Existing album covers

Finished...

After we had finished all these parts of the process, our music video was finally finished.

 

Eliza and the Bear- Friends

 

This is our final piece of work.



Typography

Due to the band already being established, this meant that we were able to draw ideas from existing products of theres and find a font that was similar to the ones that they use.

We then had a lesson focusing on typography and how the type of font that is used on the album cover can effect what conclusions are drawn from it by the audience and therefore the assumptions that are made on what to expect from the album. This linked closely with genre as we found out that different genre had different conventions for typography. We decided that we wanted to follow the conventions that are associated with an indie rock band so that the band would be recognisable.

We searched through many free downloadable font sites on the internet until we had a list of possible fonts that we wanted to experiment with on our cover and from this we chose the final one.

Back in the media suite

Editing

 

Once we began editing back at school, it became clear that there were certain shots that we needed to pick up in order for the music video to look professional. These tended to be close ups of the artist and the instruments. We then managed to go out and shoot these within an hour afterschool.

 

After we had done the pick up shots we came back to the editing suite and could begin properly. We began by laying down a basic sequence using the footage that we had collected. However we then had to work for a couple of weeks increasing the cuts so that the pace of the visuals matched the tempo of the track. As well as this we decided to use titles on some of the key lyrics to emphasise them and so this took ages to match up so that they were in perfect time with when the words were sung in the song.

 

Colour grading only took a couple of hours to sort out, and this was due to us creating a good atmosphere in the shots by the weather on the day. However we did enhance some of the yellows and greens to make them brighter.

 

 

Filming...

And so we began filming at 10am. The weather was perfectly sunny and so the lighting was exactly the way we wanted it, making the surrounding environment look alive and happy. We all met in the carpark and luckily bought everything with us that we required in order to make the day run smoothly. This included the preproduction pack. 

The shot list proved very useful, especially when it came to the end of the day and we were able to check off each shot again ensure that we hadn't forgotten to do any and adding on any extra shots that we managed to capture. Due to Lauren and I being in the music video, we had to leave some of the filming to Desiree. This meant that there was opportunity for it not to work out right, due to this not being her role in the production team. However it was good to hear and get her point of view on things and it ended up working well. We filmed the squirrels part first, ensuring that we filmed more than we needed and then followed the same structure for each of the other animals and then the group shots.

There were a few shots that had to be filmed severals times including the lighting of the matches due to it not being lit properly or at all, this was difficult but with many attempts, we finally managed to get one in which it worked.

We finished filming at around 4 o'clock and so packed up and went home.

Logistics- instruments and more

As well as the location and costumes we had to make sure that we had all the other props that we would need when it came to filming. Instruments were vital for making the music video and so we had to search for 3 guitars, a keyboard and a drum that we could use. This was a task that was easily accomplished as it turned out that we had these instruments within our filming team. Now we just had to ensure that we brought them all with us on the day. For the drum we settled on using a box, as this was something we had seen done in several music videos and would be easier to set up in the woods than a full equipped drum set.

We then told our actors (including Lauren and myself) to wear jeans and a plain white, round neck top with trainers for filming. We chose this outfit as we felt it was quite unisex and therefore people wouldn't necessarily be able to tell our gender... making us able to fit into the role of the band members.

Casting

At the beginning we thought that casting was vital and so our preference for actors were: average height, male, and medium built. However this proved hard to achieve because although we knew people who would match the wanted profile, they were not free on the day to take part. From here we had to start thinking more realistically. I had a couple of friends who already said they would help and so we just had to look for a couple more guys. In the end we found Ollie who was a great help in playing the owl and then Lauren and I casted ourselves as the bear and the fox. By being in the music video ourselves would enable us to get extra ideas for filming.

Shotlisting

Shotlisting is one of the most improtant parts of the preproduction stages as it states exactly which shots are needed to be captured and any other information e.g. lighting that is to be sorted out with it.

This makes it easier to remember what to film on the day, by just following it. On these sheets we wrote down the specific shot types that we needed e.g. close ups, extreme close ups and midshots. We decided to shoot mainly closeups as these were most frequent in the music videos that we had viewed during the research stages and are also commonly found in our genre of music. This is because they allow more emotion (facial) and precision (instrumental) to be seen.

 

 

 

Storyboarding

We decided to start creating our preproduction pack by making a storyboard and a treatment to match.

 

The treatment: the band members would travel in multiple way to reach the spot in the woods, where they would all join together and play as a band. This would represent them as belonging together, like friends and family. The fox would walk, the squirrels would also walk together, the bear would run and the owl would cycle. The main part of the action in the music video is when they are building the campfire at the end of the day.

 

The storyboard: We drew out in chronological order everything that would happen in the sequence and what type of shot we wanted to create this. We also included mise-en-scene, including the masks, and any other titles that we wanted to add in during post production.



 

 

 

 

Costumes

Once we had agreed upon the idea for our music video and had thoughts on location, we decided to look at costumes. We had decided in the planning stages that we wanted the actors playing the members of the band to be anonymous and so figured that by placing animal masks on them we would be able to do this. Due to the band being named Eliza and the Bear, we had thoughts of putting all the band members in bear masks. However by doing this we wouldn't be making them each an individual of the band but all the same. So from here we began researching other animals that would be found in a wooded area.

We chose:

• Squirrel
• Bear
• Fox
• Owl

We decided upon for animals as we decided that the two guitar players would be squirrels together. Now we just had to find the masks.
After doing some research online we found a website that was able to supply us with all the masks that we needed for a cheap price.

Explored concepts and visualisations

From the lyrics of the song we were able to draw upon the idea of carvings being made and staying there permanently and the idea that maybe friends and family were similar as in they can be there forever. This strengthened our visualisations of filming in a wood and so began looking for locations that were available.

 

Maidenhead- The thicket

This would be a perfect place to shoot as it is open to the public and has alot of wooded space as well as open land. It was also in the perfect location which meant that we could all easily access it on the day that we chose, due to being in our town.

Lyric Analysis

Eliza and the Bear- Friends

 

Cause I've got friends, I've got family here

They say these kids are diseased,
But we've got love to share
Cause God knows where we've been,
But not where we're going
And when the water is too deep to swim,
We still swim

Cause I've got friends, I've got family here (x2)

I will sleep down on the beaches,
And you will swim from shore to open shore

Cause I've got friends, I've got family here (x2)

Cut me down to firewood and carve our names (x2)

Cause I've got friends, I've got family here

 

When first looking at the lyrics we noticed that they were repetitive, and are initial thoughts were to create a story with them focusing on friendship. We then picked out the key words (which are highlighted) and sorted them into relevant groups. By looking at the words we were able to work out that we wanted to film our music video in the woods due to there being nature and wood involved in the lyrics of the song. As well as this we decided that we wanted to shoot it on a summers day due to being happy.

 



Promotion and Marketing

Promotion in the music industry is extremely important with record companies ensure that they advertise the band/artist and their products as much as possible and as best they can. This is to ensure profit through sales. Ways in which this can be done are magazine articles, through the use of social media, preview clips online, merchandise, bill boards and other such mediums.

About the band

Eliza and the Bear are an Indie Rock band from London formed in 2011. They have recently been signed to the worldwide recording company 'Universal Music Group'. There are 5 male members in the band. They have released several songs including 'Upon the North', 'Brothers Boat' and 'Friends'. Friends is commonly used in television adverts.

The bands record company

Eliza and the Bear are officially signed to Universal Music Group in London. The recording company are American and is the largest corporation of its kind worldwide. Alejandro Fernandez, Bastille, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Enrique Iglesias, Fall Out Boy, Gary Barlow are also signed by this company.

Eliza and the Bear's appearance

 

Eliza and the Bear

 



 

 

The band dress similarly to one another, usually in a casual way. Sweatshirts and button ups are their common get up, matched with a pair of jeans and smart shoes or trainers. This is typical dress for people of their ethnicity and age. We would have to consider the way in which the band dress for when we recreate the band for our music video.

Communication with the band

After research we decided that we wanted to create a music in the Indie Pop genre. We then communicated with the band through twitter. I used my personal account to do this and it wasn't long before we got the response that we wanted.

 

These are screenshots of the communication:

 

 

Analysing music videos from our genre 3

Coldplay

Paradise

 

 

Although this music video didnt directly fit into the genre we were focusing on, it did have a similar narrative idea to the one that we were considering for our music video. This was the use of animal costumes to create anonymity and make it more fun. It was following the narrative of embarking on a journing to get to the dream place in which you belong. The colours that were used in this video were all relatively positive and bright, including yellows, oranges and reds. The titles added to the music video, made it seem more like a film. As well as this the only performance part of the music video was based within the narrative as the band members were still in the costumes of elephants.

 

Analysing music videos from our genre 2

Eliza and the Bear

Upon the north

 

I decided to analyse a music video by this band as we were thinking about choosing one of their songs to make a music video for. This meant that it would give me insight into the way that they so things and their style as a band. As well as this the genre was similar. In this music video it is very simplistic with two different parts to it; the performance element and the a concept based idea of feathers falling down on the band members. This didnt really have any relevant link to the song or the lyrics. The use of close ups of the band members faces meant that it showed a large amount of emotion in their performance which creates a great atmosphere. The colourings for thi video were all quite bland. By this I mean blacks, browns and cream. This added to the simplistic feel, which is also what the band is about.

Analysing music videos from our genre 1

Ben Howard

Keep your head up

 

 

This music video is categorised in the indie pop/rock genre and is narrative based. It is unusual in this genre for a music video to not have a performance side to it and therefore this piece stands out. The narrative in the video as shown through the lyrics is about a journey in life and how you should try to be free minded and positive. This is represented in the visuals through the building of a waterslide in the woods, with the characters having what seems to be, not a care in the world. The colours in it are quite bright and focus around yellows, oranges and greens. This gives it a positive, fresh appearance. As well as this when the pace of the song increases so does the pace of the visuals so that it has more rhythm and moves the narrative along.

 

 

Music Video theory

Andrew Goodwin

 

These are the key features that distinguish music as a form:

• A relationship between visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics
• A relationship between the music and the visuals again either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music
• Music genres have their own music video style and iconography
• There is likely to be voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women
• There's a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close-ups of the main artist/vocalist
• There is likely intertextual references either to other music videos or to films and TV texts

 

Andrew Goodwin suggested that all music videos would contain this.

 

Voyeurism is the practice of obtaining sexual gratification by looking at sexual objects or acts, especially secretively. For example objectifying a woman in a music video as a sexual object

Director Analysis 3

Ray Kay

 

 



Ray Kay is a Norwegian director and photographer who is currently based in Los Angeles. He is also a music video and commercial director. Ray Kay mostly directs music videos and has worked with artists such as Cher, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Jessie J, Nelly Furtado, Beyoncé Knowles, Destiny's Child, Enrique Iglesias and Adam Lambert.

 

 

He produced this in 2013 with Austin Mahone- Say you're just a friend



Director analysis 2

Anthony Mandler

 

 



Anthony Mandler collaborated with Rihanna in 2006 and they have collaborated on 16 occasions. He has also written and directed music videos for many other prominent artists including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Eminem, Usher, Shakira, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez.

This is a collaboration between Rihanna and Anthony Mandler.

Director Analysis 1

Colin Tilley

 

He has worked with several artists including Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo, Tyga, Cheryl Cole and Dappy. He was the director for Chris Brown's "Look at me now" which won video of the year in 2011. Colin Tilley is currently nominated director of the year 2014.

Conventions of music videos

Camera shots- music videos tend to use long shots, mid-shots and close-ups. This is so that emphasis can be created on the artist, location, mood and emotions. Close ups also show the words of the song by the movement of the artists lips.

Camera movement- it is used to follow or track the artist. It can either be tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots.

Mise-en-scene - it puts the importance on the representation of something.
        An example of this is in Olly Murs' Busy:

 

Basically, the mise-en-scene in this music video represents him as living his life the way that he thinks is normal and focusing on his partner despite everyone else thinking he is crazy. The manikin of his wife helps to create this craziness to his life as she is seen as not being real. However this is not the case and it is more that everyone else is to busy rushing about in their lives, that they forget to notice what is really important to them.

The bright colours of sunshine and the warm, comforting colours of the wallpaper and furniture help to create this homely feel, for which is the deeper meaning within the song.

Mad by Neyo is also another example of this:

 

The music video involves him walking down a road alone which represents the isolation that he feels from his lover. The use of dark costumes and lighting also aims to create the dark mood that he is feeling due to the situation that he is in. By being in black and white makes it feel sad, like the lyrics.

 

Editing- Jump cuts is the predominant editing technique use in music videos. This is due to it allowing sudden change from one scene to another. Fade and dissolves are also relatively common.

 

However the conventions do slightly differ depending on the genre in which the music video falls.

In hip hop videos the conventions are:

• Party/club locations
• Alcohol
• Long establishing shots
• Money, big houses
• Attractive women
• Artists are involved

 

 An example of this by Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull- I like it

 

However in Indie/ rock videos they are:

• Often black and white
• Artist/band shown throughout
• Extreme close ups and longs shots used
• Fast paced
• Special effects

 

 

This is an example by Kings of Leon- Pyro



Visualisation and Synaesthesia

We begun the lesson with an A3 piece of paper and some coloured felt tip pens. With no idea what song was about to be played, we sat and listened until our pens touched paper and we simply followed the path that we were subconsciously taken down (as we had been instructed to do).

 

As you can see the green doodle is busier and involves a lot of movement from the texture and sounds that I had heard. The constant repetition of straight lines could represent there being a steady beat that is repeated throughout the song. This usually changed quickly into a jerking sound or increase/ decrease in volume which changed the pattern that I was creating. This song was "Pelican" by the Macabees.

 

Here is the YouTube clip for it:

 

The second picture had smoother lines which varied in widths. The variation in the widths of the lines could represent the soft volume fading out. The smoother lines shows that the song had a simpler composition. This is opposite to the Macabees song but fits the genre of music that it falls under.

This song was called "For your love" by Josh Records.

Textual analysis 3

Always- Bon Jovi

 

 

Bon Jovi's Always is based within the pop/rock genre and is a power ballad. As a power ballad it contains a lot of performance as well as being narrative-based. Power ballads do not always conform to the genre of music that they fall within due to expressing emotion and telling a story of love.

 

This music video is Voyeuristic as it focuses on a sexual element of the relationship within the story and contains footage that they have created of themselves in a sexual capacity. This involves intertextual references as there are screens within screens, which helps to tell the narrative. 

First Lesson

The first activity that we were given, withheld a lot of information about it from us. We were given a piece of A3 paper each and told to write down the thoughts and feelings that came to mind from listening to a unknown song.

 

(Life is a gun- Jay Malinowski)

 

By listening to this song I thought of the following thoughts and feelings:

• Calming
• Sombre
• Peaceful
• Hope
• A release of tension

 

After this we were then asked to picture what we thought the music video would look like and what we thought would happen in it. My thoughts were that there would be "a rugged looking man walking along a dusty isolated road. The music video would focus on yellow and other such warm colours. It would cut from him walking along playing a guitar to a flashback of someone going through something, perhaps a relationship difficulty, in their life. Then it would cut to a little saloon bar where he would perform on a small spotlighted stage in the corner." Therefore the set up would be simplistic but relatively effective. It would have both narrative based and performance based aspects to it.

 

We then looked at the lyrics to the song and found that there was a large emphasis and repetition of the word 'gun'. This changed some of the people in the classes opinions on what the video may looked like as they then turned to a concept- based video. however I didn't change my idea at all as  had already listened to the lyrics and therefore taken them into consideration when deciding how the video could be done.

 

Snippet from the lyrics:

"Deep in the past

We can trigger to the barrel blast
On the avenue
Where I would crash into you

What's done is done and life is a gun
Life is a gun on the run
Oh my dear, isn't life a gun
A story shotgun that came undone
We came undone"

*Words relating to a gun*

 

In our next session we compared what we came up with to what the official music video looked like. The official video was quite different from my interpretation of the song, especially since it was narrative-based. The narrative did focus largely on a gun like in the lyrics. Similarly to my idea there was some focus on a relationship between a male and a female. The music video was in black and white, this was a typical convention of music videos.

Textual analysis 4

5 colours in her hair- McFly

 

 

McFly are a pop band formed in 2003 and so it is not surprising that this is the genre in which their music video falls. This could be identified by the bright colours used throughout the music video. In pop videos it is common for their to be dancing and partying and props are used. This is evident in 5 colours in her hair as whilst the band are performing, everyone around them is dancing and having a good time. A lot of styling and editing is done in pop music videos to make the artists look perfect, as to sell more copies of the song.

 

The relationship between lyrics and visuals





 

Part of the lyrics:

She's got a lip ring and 5 colours in her hair,
Not into fashion but I love the clothes she wears,
Her tattoo's always hidden by her underwear.
She don't care.

The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is that they have represented this girl that they are singing about in the music video. They have also made the stage colourful and the background to represent the colours in the mystery girls hair. The lyrics of the song tell a story which is then being shown in the music video.
Some of the music video is in black and white which makes the colours stand out, like the girl did in the lyrics. The makes it more noticeable and therefor easier to follow the narrative that is within the song.

The relationship between music and visuals
The music that is being played is also being performed by the band throughout the music video. When the pace of the music speeds up so does the action in the music video and the cuts.

5 colours in her hair is both narrative-based and performance based.



Laura Mulveys Male gaze theory and examples in music videos

The main features of the theory are:

• The representation of women in a sexual fantasy from a heterosexual male point of view
• The pleasure involved in looking at others bodies
• The objectification of females
• Women as an image
• Needs of the male ego

Rude Boy- Rihanna

 

This music video conforms to the male gaze theory due to the way that Rihanna is acting and by what she is saying. Below are some still from the music video that conform to this idea. By there being three of her however shows her as having power and being in control and therefore doesn't create her image in a patriarchal way, as suggested by Laura Mulvey.

 

In this shot the artist has red lipstick on which has connotations of a sexual nature. She then has her finger seductively placed in her mouth which would be seen as attractive by a heterosexual male viewer.

 

 

I this still Rihanna is wearing little clothing which draws the attention to her body, leading to voyeurism. she is the bent over increasing the focus on her backside. At this point in the music video she then starts shaking it, which may be found attractive by a heterosexual male causing the male gaze.

 

Another example of this in a music video is in Miley Cyrus's Wrecking ball.

 



 

Here are some still explaining why this video conforms to the male gaze theory.

 

 

In this still Miley Cyrus has red lipstick on. This colour has sexual connotations but by putting it on her mouth which is an area of the body often associated with women it makes it even more attractive for heterosexual men. She is also licking a hammer in this still. A hammer is a masculine object and so one that a male can identify with. By licking it gives extremely sexual connotations and so can create pleasure for a male.

 

 

In this part of the music video, the artist is wearing few items of clothing thus revealing a large amount of her body. She is sat on a wrecking ball in a sexual pose which objectifies her as an image which conforms to the needs of the male ego. This therefore creates pleasure for the heterosexual men viewing it.

Textual analysis of music videos

Green Day- American Idiot

Director- Samuel Bayer

 



We broke down the music video regarding the questions that we were given. These allowed us to see the conventions of different genres of music and how performance, concept and narrative based videos were constructed. This could help us when we come to planning and making our own music videos.

This is the music video for 'American Idiot' performed by Green Day

 

We looked at different features of the music video to identify the genre and the conventions that it followed.

 

The genre of American Idiot falls within Punk. This can be identified through the heavy use of dark colours such as black, from their outfits, Billie Joe's eyeliner and the instruments. However this is contrasted by the colours of red from the tie and green from the back drop. The use of a dirty green colour of the American flag as the back drop also conforms to the punk genre as it supports the rebellion that they focus on in their song. Punk music was not only known for it's anarchic rebellion that was aimed to achieve throughout young adults, but also for the fashion statement that it made. Artists in the punk genre are known for their almost dishevelled look and this can be seen in American Idiot by Green Day members having tattoos, eyeliner and the continuous use of swearing.

 

The relationship between lyrics and visuals

As previously suggested, the use of the worn down, colour faded American flag as the backdrop they are conforming to the idea of the rebellion that they are focusing on- not being controlled by the media and therefore losing individuality.

 

 

The relationship between music and visuals

The visuals in the music video have a main focus on the instruments that are being played, the two guitars, the drums and vocals. This is important as this is what can be heard in the music. This is constructed through the use of close ups and shots of the whole band playing. Here is an example of this below:

 



 

Green Day have their star motif of a hand grenade. This is visible in several of their music videos, not only American Idiot but also Boulevard of broken dreams as seen below:

 

 

By including this in more than one video creates a link between the object and the band and therefore makes them more recognisable as a band and their products.

 

American Idiot by Green Day is mainly performance based as it focuses on the playing their instruments and performing the song. However it has an element of concept- based due to the discoloured flag collapsing into a flood of liquid, representing the breakdown of America. Within this music video they break the four- wall rule. This is when they reveal what is happening behind the camera through another. 

 

Texual analysis 2

Here it goes- OK GO

Trish Sie and Self- directed

 





 

The genre of this music video is Indie Pop. The music video has an element of Indie to it, due to being a relatively simplistic idea of choreography on running machines. This also is likely to have been low cost. The pop part is represented by the bright colours used in the outfits and the fact that there is choreography in the music video, which is a convention of pop.

 

The relationship between the lyrics and visuals

The title of the song is Here it goes again. Within the lyrics there is a lot of repetition of the title and this links with the choreography on the treadmills and how they are repeating the same movements over and over.

 

The relationship between the music and the visuals

The movement of the visuals within the music video is in time with the music and this makes it flow easily. As well as this the use of instruments in the music are simple, which is similar to the formation of the music video.

 

There are not any close-ups in this music video, and it appears to have been film using a single shot set up. This also creates a simplistic touch and could represent the simplicity of life, and how repetitive it can be.

 

This music video is concept- based as treadmills do not particularly have any relevant link to the song itself and therefore it doesn't clearly make sense.