Prop List

Equipment list

·         Video cam cord

·         Tripod

·         Tape/ memory card

·         Mac Computer

·         USB

·         Final cut

Instruments

·         Drum kit

·         Electric guitar

·         Base guitar

·         Piano

·         Microphone

We will need these when filming the performance part of our music video. We need these to show the band members playing throughout the music video, this fits within the rock conventions because in most music video i have seen they have either used both narrative and performance or just one or the other, we decided to do both narrative and performance within our music video. We are hoping that most of the band members have their own instruments, if not then we will hopefully be able to book out some instruments from the music rooms in college as the band members we have, also do music.

Costume

·         Band members- All in black, black jacket, black skinny jeans, black top and accessories ( jewellery, tattoos and one tattoo sleeve, wristbands  and belts)

·         Ian Watkins- waistcoat, black top, grey jeans and accessories (belt, wristband and tattoos)

·         The girl- light cream dress and dolly shoes. Dark black dress and dolly shoes. Accessories (belts and chains, ankle bracelet, bracelets, necklace,  tattoos and piercing)

These costumes all fit into the rock genre conventions as i have seen through researching the rock genre.

Location props

·         Bedroom furniture- beds, wardrobe, mirrors and bed cabinets

Location Report

One of our locations is Apley Woods, we decided to do the narrative within a wood and thought Apley woods would be a perfect location. We are also using the two bedrooms (bed, wardrobe, mirror and bedside cabinet) to show the start and ending of the music video and we are going to book a music room in the HAC to do the performing part of the film. This fits into the rock genre as it shows both narrative and performance and the narrative is about meaning of the song lyrics which most rock genre do and go back and forth from performance and narrative.

Digipak

Cover (Outside)

Cover (Inside)

Production Schedule

Video Plan (Lostprophets - 4am Forever)

Narrative & Visual Style (Camerawork & Editing)
The storyline for our video is essentially related to the lyrics of the song, and will be about a couple who have broken up and miss each other. This relates to the Blumler & Katz uses and gratifications theory (1974) in the sense of personal identity; the audience could connect with the lyrics and video, particularly if they are in a similar situation. The video will start by showing both the girl and the boy lying down on their beds, putting on their headphones and closing their eyes (split-screen). At this point the song would start. Use of memory will be used throughout our video. The narrative will flick from real time, to memories from the past and how happy the couple were. The memory scenes will have a light filter on, so they can be easily differentiated from the real time scenes, which will be considerably of darker lighting. In between this will be shots of the band playing their respective instruments, a feature of mise-en-scene which is conventional and typical of Lostprophets. These shots will have fluid camera movement to create an intense, powerful vibe and will be quick edits for fast pace, especially during the guitar solo, where the camerawork will be shaky and dramatic, with varying focus. A variety of shots will be used, such as panning long shots to show the woods (scenery shots), as well as medium shots of the boy, girl and band. Close up shots will be used to convey emotion and during the guitar solo for dramatic effect. Focus will be used efficiently as well as layering when it comes to editing the footage.

Dark lighting effects and use of shadows will also be implemented in these scenes. In the real time, the shots will be of the boy (which will be the lead singer) singing and shots of the girl wandering the woods, now alone and sad. Also in the reality scenes, to go alongside the boy/Ian Watkins' reality shots, the girl will be in a room playing the piano part of the song, adding to the performance aspect. This will contrast with the memory sequences, when there will be shots of the girl being chased through the woods (from the boy's point of view), and these scenes will have connotations of happiness. Cross-cutting will be frequently used in our music video, allowing us to portray three different scenes at the same time. Editing to place the memory scenes in a slight slow-motion will also be used. Fades will be strategically used when necessary (e.g. when the pace of the song is slow during the memory shots or in the transitions from the boy to the girl in the memory scenes).

Costume will be essential to conveying the difference between real time and memory, as the girl will be wearing a black dress in the real time scenes, and a light dress in the memory shots. The boy however will differ from this, and stay in the same dark clothing to match the band and in order to add to the element of performance, accompanied with narrative. The end of the video will adopt a similar style to the beginning (split-screen), as the shot will show both the boy and the girl open their eyes, take off their headphones, and a close-up, over-the-shoulder shot will show them both write a text saying "I miss you..." and the screen will then fade to black as the end note of the song fades in volume.

Cast:
* Band: (drummer, bass guitarist, lead guitarist)
* Ian Watkins (lead vocalist and boy)
* Girl

Location:
The music video will be filmed in a woodland area for both the memory and reality scenes. A room with a piano will be used for the piano shots, and a dark room will be where the band will play. Both the boy's bedroom and the girl's bedroom for their respective scenes will also be needed.

Costume: 
The band members and Ian Watkins will be dressed typical to the style of Lostprophets; in dark clothing with typical hairstyles and many accessories (such as jewellery and tattoos). The girl will have two outfits; a black dress for the reality scenes and a light dress for the memory scenes).

Time to film:
We will create a filming schedule once we have all band members which will take into account when all members of the cast will be available for filming, thus making the filming process more reliable timing-wise and allowing us to stick to a production schedule.

Link back to research into other Media Products:
In our video we have paid great attention to detail, and mise-en-scene (such as props, costume and lighting) will be vital to our music video, allowing us to keep within the conventions of Lostprophets and the rock genre. Editing and camerawork in our video will also resemble the typical style of Lostprophets and indeed other music videos of the genre.

Research On Chosen Artist/Band: Lostprophets

Lostprophets, originally a nu-metal band from Cardiff were founded by lead vocalist Ian Watkins in 1997, and released their debut album "The Fake Sound Of Progress," in 2001. As the band creates a fresh sound with every new album, the band appeals to many audiences; from the youthful generation to middle-aged adults. The band displays a number of different genres: from metal to post-hardcore and breakbeat. Lostprophets also won Best British Band at the Kerrang! awards in 2006.

I have chosen to create a music video to a Lostprophets song as they are very versatile as a band. Their music varies in style and pace, ultimately meaning they have a wide target audience. Furthermore, the band do a mix between emotional, powerful songs, to aggressive/rebellious as well as upbeat songs. This would allow me to be creative when it comes to the narrative and performance aspect of my music video.

Brief History of the Rock Genre

1940's - 1960's
Rock is thought to have originated from the late 1940's, where a popular music style of the time (blues and country) were combined with a steady drum beat and an electric guitar. In the 1950's, artists such as Chuck Berry used the blues structure but displayed his own style as a performer. As this was a conservative time, the aggressive nature of rock (often suggesting sexual freedom) was found shocking by many.The Rolling Stones, inspired by Berry, tackled controversy (caused by them showing sex and youth rebellion) and took rock to a new level.

1970's
This was the time where rock became more popular as a genre. Led Zeppelin in this decade gave rock a darker, heavier tone, inventing the sub-genre hard rock or heavy metal. Around the same time, Pink Floyd created progressive rock, by combining complex arrangements and a theme maintained across albums. In response to this, in the late 70's, bands such as The Clash and The Sex Pistols shunned the "hippie" bands like Pink Floyd and stripped rock down to it's basic essence: loud guitars, attitude and enraged singing, which led to the creation of the punk sub-genre.


1980's
At this time, the sub-genres of rock began to assert their dominance and place in the music industry. English bands such as Depeche Mode were more keyboard-orientated and showed a introvereted songwriting style, leading to postpunk, whereas American groups such as REM created college rock (later known as alternative or indie, as some artists/bands were signed to small labels), named because it was popular on college radio stations. In 1988 the music magazine known as Billboard gave alternative rock music its own chart (calling it modern rock).


1990's - Present
Nirvana's 1991 album "Nevermind" made alternative rock a more dominant sub-genre, and the age of grunge (a mix between hard rock and punk) was born. By the middle of the decade after Niravana frontman Kurt Cobain's suicide, mainstream rock made a comeback after the popularity of alternative rock faded. Limp Bizkit was one of the first bands to embrace this, creating the new hybrid sub-genre of rap-rock. Bands such as Staind and Puddle of Mudd followed, but focused more on melodic hard rock than the rapping element. Red Hot Chili Peppers, who did not quite fit in with the grunge genre, continued to find new audiences throughout the 90's. Bands such as Foo Fighters re-energised mainstream rock with the influence of the alternative sub-genre. Today there are various bands from different sub-genres. Linkin Park for example combines hip-hop and metal, whereas 3 Doors Down creates a contemporary version of hard-rock traditions.

Rock Genre Mindmap

Digipak Research Findings: Lostprophets & Good Charlotte

For my research on these two bands, I have decided to analyse the style of two of their album covers (front and back) and to then draw conclusions as to the general conventions for the rock genre. The two Good Charlotte albums I will be analysing are "The Young And The Hopeless" (2002) and "Good Morning Revival" (2007). The two Lostprophets albums I will be analysing are "Start Something" (2004) and "Liberation Transmission" (2006).

Similarities and certainly conventions are clearly shown on the album covers I have chosen. All album covers except "Good Morning Revival" have the name of the band in that band's particular font, making it instantly recognisable and iconic. Another similarity is the title of the album, as for three of the four album covers (all except "Good Morning Revival"), are all in the same script-like font, differing from the way in which the band name is portrayed. "Good Morning Revival" however is in the same font as Good Charlotte, and evidently goes against the conventions that are beginning to show. Being a later album for the band, perhaps this has been stylistically done to show a different side to them, in order to appeal to other audiences. For the album cover I will create for my music video, I believe I will follow the conventions shown in the majority of these album covers.

The Young And The Hopeless & Good Morning Revival

"The Young And The Hopeless" album cover generally has a dark colour scheme, with the band title and album name in a dark shade of green. In-keeping with conventions of album covers for the rock genre, this album has artwork on the front cover, relating to the theme of the songs on the CD. The font in which "Good Charlotte" is written has connotations of rebellion and conveys the band's image and attitude that is often shown in their songs and music videos. This is also shown on the back of the album, through the clothes the band are wearing, which are dark and conventional of the rock genre, along with a couple of band members' hairstyles (iconography). The song listed are at the bottom of the cover, as more attention is drawn to the band instead.

Conversely, the "Good Morning Revival" album cover completely contrasts to the other album cover by this band. The colour scheme is a simplistic and bright white and orange. The front is of minimalistic styling, and shows a long shot of the band with all their music equipment. A basic font and plain background ensures the main focus of attention is drawn to the band, but the orange makes the album eye-catching. The band's iconic "GC" logo is still present on the cover, in the form of a shadow. The back of the cover takes a more artistic approach, with an assortment of polaroid pictures of the band and a reverse in the colour scheme; from white to black. Similar to the other album cover, the songs are listed at the bottom.

Start Something & Liberation Transmission

The "Start Something" album has the image of an empty motorway (or highway), and the same image is maintained onto the back. The album uses artwork, typical of this rock genre, and makes use of the colour red throughout. The image of one person on the motorway with the city behind him could symbolise his significance compared to his surroundings, and the pose which he is in suggests emotion. Again, dark colours are used overall, but the red draws attention to the band name. One the back, the red artwork dominates the cover and similar to the Good Charlotte albums, the songs are listed in a small print at the bottom so the layout is not cluttered and there is a clear focus.

Similarly, the "Liberation Transmission" album also has a dark colour scheme; although it is a more minimalistic, and is once again accompanied by the presence of red. The amount of red is once again then increased on the back of the cover. This album differs from "Start Something" as there is a picture of the band on the back cover. Also, the band name is in two different fonts on both albums.

A dark colour scheme accompanied by one other colour seems to be conventional of the rock genre, along with a band photo displaying their image and style. When creating my own album cover, I will adhere to these conventions to ensure that I convey the correct message.

Research: Idea for Good Charlotte's "I Don't Wanna Be In Love" Music Video

The lyrics tell of two people, a boy and a girl, who have just got out of a relationship. This makes me think I could show the story of two different people, their break-up with their partner, and at the end of each story, they could be making their way to the venue at which "Good Charlotte" are playing. During the last verse and chorus, the two could meet each other at the venue, as the lyrics talk about finding someone new.

Research: Ideas For Music Video

At this moment in time, I am thinking I will more than likely create a music video using a song by the band Good Charlotte, Lostprophets or The Pretty Reckless, as both bands have narrative qualities, i.e. their songs contain some sort of story behind them. This would allow me to film a narrative video, with elements of performance as both of these bands are from the rock genre, so a sense of performance will be required. Currently I am leaning towards a video using a Good Charlotte song, and have therefore looked at a couple of their songs. In particular, I am interested in "Where Would We Be Now" and "I Don't Wanna Be In Love" and have already started to visualise potential scenes if I was to make a video for each song. The lyrics in both of these songs tell a story, which could be portrayed in various ways in a video, thus allowing me to be creative in what I could place on the screen. Songs by The Pretty Reckless that I am considering are "Goin' Down", "Make Me Wanna Die" and "You," as I believe I could creeate a believable narrative for each of these songs. If I was to choose Lostprophets, the songs I would choose from would be "Last Summer,", "Can't Stop, Gotta Date With Hate" and "Last Train Home."

Originally I would have liked to have created a video for the band Hollywood Undead, but seeing as all of their songs contain explicit lyrics. this was therefore not possible. Another band I considered to use was Black Veil Brides, however a vast number of their songs have screaming included, so unless I could find someone who can mime Andy Sixx's screaming authentically, this was also a difficult option. However, I am contemplating the songs "Rebel Love Song", "Fallen Angels" and "Set The World On Fire" as well as "The Legacy," which contains screaming.

For all of my possible options, when the time comes to create the storyboards etc in order to create the video, I will need to make sure I have a band, as all of my possible songs contain a band. Thus, I would have to find people who can play the required instruments to take part in the video. My main aim of my music video is to make it as authentic and realistic as possible, so ideally I would like to have people who can play an instrument like a guitar skillfully, allowing their miming to be as believable as possible. Another aspect I will have to take into account in planning for my music video is wardrobe. What the band wears in a music video is a message conveyed to everyone, demonstrating what the band stand for and their style etc.

Evaluation: Busted Music Video Practical

The practical task of recreating Busted's music video to "What I Go To School For" has been hugely beneficial to my editing skills using the program Final Cut. I have learnt how to use the lyrics to effectively edit film. My intentions throughout the task were to stay as close to the original video as possible, and for the editing to virtually replicate the video, shot for shot, with practically the same timings. Ideally, there are a few shots in the video that could have gone better; for exmaple the shot with Matt pushing his way to the front of class, because the other students needed to walk to the seats. However, overall I am pleased with the end result of the task and I feel I have vastly improved my media skills.

Practical: Busted - "What I Go To School For"

Research: Busted - 'What I Go To School For' (not finished)

Shots & Camerawork
1. The video opens with a close-up shot of the teacher's feet, and tracks as she walks to the front of the classroom.
2. Close-up tracking shot from over the shoulder as the teacher writes "Sex Education" on the board.
3. Close-up shot of the teacher's face as she turns around from the board.
4. Medium shot of Charlie sitting at his desk. Other class members sat in surrounding desks.
5. Close-up shot of the teacher's hand as she flicks off the light switch.
6. Back to medium shot of Charlie, he's fiddling with a pen.
7. Medium shot of the video on the board
8. Extreme close-up of the teacher's eyes (looking at the video on the board).
9. Back to medium shot of Charlie
10. Long shot panning shot from towards the back of the classroom, aimed at the video on the board.
11. Over the shoulder shot from behind Charlie, two girls walk past. Camera tracks up as the girls walk past, then back down again to Charlie (he shakes his head).
12. Medium shot of video.
13. Back to medium shot of Charlie at the desk (zooms in slightly & slowly)
14. Over the shoulder shot of a girl who turns around and smiles (camera zooms slightly)
15. Medium shot of James at his desk, looks up and is repulsed.
16. Long shot of Matt and other students, he pushes past and struts/walks into the foreground to the desk at the front. (Shot taken from the front of class looking towards the back)Camera slightly tracks down as Matt sits down.
17. Very quick extreme close up of the teacher's back of head and then eyes as she turns around from the board.
18. Medium shot between the shoulders of two students at the two desks in front, looking at Charlie, he is leaning over his desk
19. Medium shot (similar to the previous one but at a slight angle, James is positioned slightly to the right) looking at James staring open-mouthed from his desk, between the shoulders of two students at the row in front.
20. close-up low angle shot of Matt at his desk, lifts up a pencil and drops it.
21. Close up slow motion shot of the pencil hitting the floor (Matt's feet in the background)
22. Shot taken from the position of the desks, looking towards the front. Medium shot of the teacher's legs and shoes as she bends down to pick up the pencil
23. Long shot of the teacher crouched down with the pencil in her hand. Camera slightly zooms as she stands up, points at the class with the pencil
24. Long shot of Busted (James left, Matt centre, Charlie right) and students in the background, Busted do their jump
25. Close up of James singing "Even though it is a"
26. Close up of Charlie singing "real bore"
27. Close up of Matt singing "You can call me crazy"
28. Medium shot of Charlie sitting at his desk, teacher is standing in front of him, handing him a piece of paper (two-shot) taken from the side. She then turns to walk away
29. Back to long shot of Busted (slightly low angle), do their jump again
30. Medium shot of a random student for the line "Even though it is a real bore."
31. Medium shot of Matt at his desk (can see Matt's shoulders and head only) Teacher is leaning over him, looking at his work, he is gazing at her, open-mouthed
32. Close up of Cahrlie singing "But none like Miss McKenzie"
33. Back to long shot of Busted "that's what I go to..." (Busted crouch down towards camera, still slightly low angled)
34. For the lyrics "school for..." Shot from the mid/back of the class looking to the front, at the teacher, class have their hands up (one hand up in the foreground) Teacher is positioned very slightly to the left, two students with their hands up in the shot, shot taken from behind students
35, Close up of James as he holds up his guitar to the end part of the chorus, plays his guitar (3 strums)
36. Back to long shot of Busted (Matt in the middle, James on the left, lowers his guitar, Charlie moves forward and crouches down to sing "That's what I go to school for."
37. Long shot taken from the side of James sitting at his desk (camera positioned so desk is not visible) Teachers walks into the shot, walks past James and strokes his shoulder/arm, James looks up

DVD Cover

Coursework Options for A2

- Looking at the two coursework briefs available to you for A2 next year, (music video/short film) which are you thinking of doing? Why?

Based on myself, I am slightly leaning more to the music video option for the A2 coursework. Being a huge music fan, when I listen to a song prior to seeing the video I often visualise some sort of narrative in my mind. I believe this will be an advantage for me in this piece of coursework. Furthermore, the music video option includes creating a DVD cover for the video and a magazine advert promoting the album, which relates back to my GCSE Media Studies coursework, where I designed a campaign advertising a rock festival, which is somewhat related and may help me.

I can see drawbacks and potential problems in making a small film, as there could be complications with the script, actors, storyline etc. I would want my media coursework to be authentic, realistic and believable. Admittedly, I can also see similar possible complications in making a music video, but I believe the soundtrack of the music will perhaps ground the structure of the film, which will help in terms of editing.

My initial thoughts for making a video are that I want to display some sort of narrative, linked to the song itself. Although I do not know what song I intend to use yet, I will look at the potential of several songs, and maybe create some ideas as to what I could show in the music video, if I was to make one for that song. However, all plans for the piece of coursework are quite vague at this current moment in time, as I am not entirely sure who I will be working with.

From past media experiences, I have learnt that keeping to a production schedule is essential, and is definitely something on which I intend to work on for the A2 media coursework. In addition, I would like to be creative in terms of editing, so familiarising myself further with the software available will be crucial.

Summary Of Lip Sync Video Task

Overall, the lip-synching video task could have gone better, but I am very happy with the end result. The song chosen was appropriate for the task, as it allowed clever editing tied into the sound. The lyrics were well mimed by Eli.

If I was to do this task again, I would choose a different location for the filming, simply because of the complications that accompanied our location (the churchyard). One of the major issues was a man who interrupted filming substantially, meaning that we did not film everything we would have liked to. What with the churchyard being public place, people were bound to be in the vicinity of filming, but we did not anticipate someone actually disturbing our filming and preventing us from gathering all the shots we wanted.

Lip Sync Video Task