Location shots

Storyboards

Me and my group have created storyboards to help give us an idea of what different shot types and different angles that we would like to use in our video. It also allows us to gain an idea of how much of the concept we would like to show, in comparison with the performance section of our video.
Our storyboard has changed from our initial ideas, as we have chosen to use a slightly different concept to the one we had planned. The old concept was one of relationship breakdown and how the two characters were coping and overcoming the breakup. However, we decided to change this as our video could end up being very cliche and repetitive, as many music videos have done this previously. By changing the concept to one centred around the idea of 'searching', it allows us to be more creative and experimental in what we can show on screen, which in turn will ensure that our music video doesn't get repetitive and tiresome for the audience.

Below is a short video showing me and my group producing our storyboards:

Below are images of the completed storyboards:

We then created an animatic of our storyboard. This allowed us to present in a visual and interesting way what we wanted to show on screen and when. By doing this it also gave us some structure as it helped us to visualise and get an idea of what we want to accomplish in our music video.

 

Concept

The concept that me and my group have chosen to use in throughout our music video is one based on the idea of 'searching'. We aim to create the idea that the characters in our music video our searching for something, however we hope to keep this something concealed. This is because this will allow the audience to speculate what it could be and what the characters are doing. By doing this it will allow us to create some sort mystery in our video, which will in turn help to make our video much more interesting for the viewer to watch.
By using a concept rather than a narrative throughout our video it allows the band/artist to be the main focus of the music video, which is one of the conventions of an indie rock video, as promoting the band/artist and the music that they play is key in a music video of our chosen genre.
Although this may go against the spatial and temporal features of Bordwell and Thompsons theory, it does allow us to use a larger variety of locations, costumes etc. which will again keep the audience hooked as they may grow tired of the same repetitive location and costume. However, rhythmic and graphic editing is something that will feature predominantly in our music video, as cutting on the beat is something that happens frequently in indie rock music videos. This, featured in Goodwins theory, matches the sense of illustration, where cutting on the beat helps to give a sense of rhythm and timing.

Locations
We have chosen to use several locations in our music video:

1. The first and most important location that we have chosen to use is a setting where the band/artist will be playing. We have decided to use a stage type location, however we want it to have an abstract feel so may decide on a basement, summer house type location instead which could allow us to be more creative and interesting, which will help the video. Lighting will play a big part in this location as we want to make the band/artist still be the focus, meeting the convention of an indie rock music video.
2. We also chose to use various locations to show the two main characters 'searching' to help meet our concept for the video. These shots will not have one set location, with a variety used to help make sure the locations don't become stale and redundant.
3. An outside location (such as a park) may also be used to show the two main characters running. This will again create the sense of 'searching' (matching out concept), however we aim to make sure that it will be mysterious and abstract as to what they will be searching for.

Costumes

Again, like the locations, we have chosen to use several different costumes in our music video:

1. The first costume in our music video will be for the main singer when he is performing. We have chosen to again follow the conventions of our chosen genre when it comes to what the people on screen will be wearing. We are looking to meet the geek preppy look, which is a formal and also casual look, which is used in many indie rock music videos. This look will contain items of clothing such as: flannel shirts, V-neck sweaters, chinos, skinny ties and boat shoes/plimsolls. 
2. The second costume will be very similar to the costume stated above. But because this time the costume will be for the concept section of our video (with characters 'searching'), the costume will be slightly more casual with skinny jeans replacing chinos and hoodies replacing V-neck sweaters, to not only give the costume a more casual feel, but also mix up the different styles of clothing to make sure the audience become tired of seeing the same thing.
3. The last costume used in our music video will be for the female character in the concept section of the video. The costume for the female will match that of her male counterpart, with sweaters, tights, plimsolls, shorts/skirts and 'geeky glasses' used to again give the video that indie and abstract feel.

Special Effects

In our music video special effects will not feature predominantly as it may distract the audience away from what the video is really about, the band/artist itself. However, slow motion and sped up shots can be used in the video (especially when instruments are being payed) to help mix up what is being shown on screen and to maintain the audiences focus on the video. We have decided not to use many special effects as it can sometimes make the video seem unprofessional if not done to a high enough standard and would also not meet the conventions of an indie rock video, as the main focus is one the band/artist themselves, rather than special effects such as contrasting colours etc.

Image Annotation

Below are a variety of images showing the type of fashion and clothing that me and my group are going to be using in our music video. The clothes that you can see will be used by not only the performer but also the characters of the concept that will be used in the music video.

The clothing that we have chosen to use in our video help to reflect the conventions of our genre well, when it comes to the clothing of the videos.
The clothes above can be seen as both formal and casual with ties and shirts worn, but the outfits are given a casual edge mainly by the use of footwear in the form of plimsolls and boat shoes. By meeting this convention it allows the image of the band/artist to appeal to a variety of different audiences with the two different styles of clothing incorporated into their outfits.
Colours of the clothing pieces are very plain, basic and earthy. This is to ensure that the main focus of the music video is on the instruments and the lyrics of the song rather than the audience being totally focused on the outfit of the band/artist.
The main focus of the image of our band/artist will be revolved around the instruments used in the video (predominantly guitar and drums), to allow the audience to get a feel for the music and lyrics of the song, which will help audience to remember the band and the songs they make.
Lastly, the clothes associated clothes with the indie-rock genre are very fitted, rather than baggy and loose. This is because baggy clothing is mostly associated with rap and hip-hop music, whereas having a more fitted style of clothing it allows the audience to instantly recognise the band/artist as consisting of the rock genre.


Below is several images, showing how this image and style is also used by bands/artists in the present day.

As you can see, the clothing and style of the bands in the images above also meet the conventions of an indie-rock band, and this is what we hope to shape the image of our band/artist around.

Research Teacher Assessment

Below is an assessment sheet from one of my teachers. As you can see the mark, level and grade of this assessment matches the peer assessment, also carried out on the research section of my blog. Although I am on the way to meeting my target grade of an A, there are still some improvements that have to be added to my blog to ensure that it is the best it can possibly be and that it also allows me to securely achieve my target grade.

Lyrics Annotation

Below is an annotation of the lyrics of my chosen song for my indie rock music video (which can be seen from the previous post:

Although many of the annotations are based on the narrative and concept of out music video, which will revolve around the idea of a relationship breaking down and ultimately coming to an end.

However, the singer/band themselves will also be a key part of the music video, but the use of the singer/band will be used as the main location and focus of the video, whereas the narrative will be second to that focus. 

So it was key to show the different aspects of the narrative in the annotations above, as we as a group have already decided that the singer/band will be the focal point of the video. 

Below is a short video showing a mind map that our group made showing the different aspects that we would like to include in our music video:

Song Details

Below is the song that me and my group have chosen to use for our indie rock music video:

As you can hear from the song above, it falls perfectly into the genre of indie rock, which ensures that the conventions that we have researched can be met when creating the music video.

We have also chose this song as the lyrics of the song can be used to create a clear concept to the video, which can help give the video itself some structure to it, and also make it interesting for the viewer to watch.

Another reason for choosing this specific song is that the beat is fairly quick and fast which can allow the editing to match the beat of the song, which will again make the video more fun for the viewer to watch.

Lastly, the song has a clear emphasis on the instruments, with parts of the song being just the instruments being played. This will allow us to meet the convention of the band/artist being the focal point and emphasis of the video, which will help to create a successful indie rock music video.

Technical Tutorials - Photoshop Practice

Below is a short video showing some of the techniques and skills that I have learnt from using photoshop. These skills include adding saturation to an image, how to blur an image, how to add text to an image, and how to remove the saturations placed on an image.

Below is a practice CD cover that me and my group made on photoshop, using the new skills that we had learnt from using the software.

The CD cover that we produced has some key features to it that match the conventions of our chosen genre:

• The background colour of our CD cover is an earthy green, which matches the convention of having natural and neutral colours as the backdrop of the CD.
• The font used is also very unique and catches the attention of the audience, which again is a convention of our chosen genre as it helps the CD to stand out from the rest.
• Although the colour of the font is black (which is a convention), an effect known as 'outer glow' was placed on the text to make it stand out even further and again try and catch the attention of the audience. The white glow also helps the text to stand out from the background colour also, which helps the audience to clearly see the name of the artist and the album title. By doing this is allows these two things to stick in the mind of the audience, which is a key thing when creating a CD cover.
• Mid shots of the artist is used, which makes conventions of our genre, especially when it is a solo artist and not a band, as the one person is the main focus of the cover and by using these mid shots it allows the convention to be met.
• The clothing used in the CD cover also matches that of artists in the indie-rock genre, as hoodies and chinos is a key part of their fashion, and again by matching this it also allows the audience to relate to the artist, as the audience will most likely have a similar taste in fashion to that of the artist.
• An 'under water' effect was also placed on the CD cover, which links to the colour used for the background of the cover as it helps to again give the cover a natural and neutral feel.
• There is also consistency of design throughout the CD cover, which helps the audience to gain a feel for what the audience is about, and also presents the cover itself as clear and understandable from the simplicity used.
• Lastly, barcodes and record label finish off the CD cover, and meet the last of the conventions of an indie rock CD cover, as these two things are essential to have when creating a CD cover.

Technical Tutorials - Green screen practice

Below is a test music video that we created using a green screen, although the quality of the editing and the shots may not be the highest, we had a very short time period to get it all done. And the main priority of doing this task was to help us gain experience with using the green screen (both setting up and in terms of the editing), which we can now consider to use in our final music video to help add another dimension to it visually.

The tasks helped me to learn a lot of new skills that will help me in the production of my final indie-rock music video:

• Setting up the green screen itself and the lighting, and also dismantling it, both quickly and safely.
• Having more of a consideration of how important lighting is in a music video environment, especially when using a green screen, as consistent lighting is very important.
• How to stay on schedule and keep to a strict time limit, as in my final music video I will have to make sure I am sticking to my schedule and getting all aspects done all time to keep the process efficient.
• How to use the chroma keyer effect on Final Cut Express, which allows you to insert any background you want behind the video, (which can be seen in the video above with the dance floor scene).
• I have learnt how to line up the video and audio of the music track, by using markers to help allow me to see when the singing may start on the audio and when the actor on screen will mime in time.

Roles

Below is a short video, showing me and my group stating the roles that we will be performing in the production of our indie-rock music video.

Although we will all be performing the roles of director, camera operator and editor, I specifically will be responsible for carrying out the props, lighting and I will also be participating in the video itself as an actor.

Initial Ideas

Below is a mind map showing the initial ideas of me and my group about certain aspects of our indie rock music video:

As you can see we have quite a lot of ideas of what we want to include in our music video.

Of course out chosen genre in indie rock, and we have centered all of our other ideas around the conventions of this genre.

Locations

For the locations of our music video we have decided to keep it fairly simple with a studio and stage location being the main locations used. However, we thought about using maybe a couple more different dynamic locations, such as a street (noted above) to make the video more interesting for the audience to watch, and also adding a more natural and real life element to it.

Low-key lighting

We decided to choose predominantly low-key lighting, with a lot of earthy colours used to help create a calm but also mysterious feel to the video. By using low-key lighting it also allows us to work with the shadows that it may create, which can help to make our video more creative.

Costumes

The costumes that we have decided on, is clothes that are both formal and casual, such as flannel shirts and boat shoes, which look smart but are also casual and fashionable at the same time. By using these types of clothes it will allow us to appeal to a lot of different audiences, each with different fashion tastes.

Props

Again in this department we have decided to keep the props simple with instruments and microphones being the main focus of the props. We have decided to include props that may be appropriate to the narrative/concept of the video, to again make it more interesting.

Artists

The artists that we have moulded our ideas around include both solo artists and bands. However they do have common factors in all of their images, such as the clothes they wear and the props they use (instruments being the main focus), which we also hope to follow in our video. The artists all have simliarities, but choosing the correct artist that matches our chosen best is key to creating a successul music video.