Catch up with Band

I have recently been considering the style of video I want for my music video, and whether I want it to be serious or more of a glam rock parody. I felt like it was important to ask the band what they wanted, but knowing their personalities I knew what they would say.

I was correct in my thinking that they would want more of a parody, glam rock styled video. Videos from artists such as Alice Cooper, Steel Panther, Slade, Queen, and The Darkness etc. All the members of the band are often very silly, and mess around all the time. In terms of directing, if I decided to make my work a parody it makes easy in some ways to direct as they will need to be silly to some extent.

Planning- Location

The location for my filming is going to be a very hard to find and plan, which keeping within Health and Safety regulations. But I have done some research into places around Norwich I could film in, but if I can't find something perfect and safe, I might have to use somewhere not perfect and make it more dystopian.

Below is a mind map of the main things I need my location to do and be for my production and I hope to find somewhere that meets those needs.

After doing some research on the internet to find suitable places, I came across a few that seem a good option. (Click images to link to the page online about the building)

This area is more appropriate than the nursery  shown below, as it has the industrial look to it, which is something a lot of rock/heavy metal music videos feature. However there is a very obvious, big health and safety issue. Looking at the photographs on this website there are a lot of structurally unsound, however I wont really know how bad it is until I see the location, if I choose too.  

This is an abandoned nursery in Norwich that as it says on the website is 'Possibly the closest I will ever get to a zombie apocalypse!', however I'm not sure if it's gonna have the right feel for my work. I want somewhere that looks abandoned and dystopian, but I feel with this location because there is still children toys etc around, I'd have to clear all that up and tidy the area up before filming in it.
One difficulty with the both of these locations is trying to find exactly where they are. On these websites authors are often very secretive about where the buildings are which could prove to be difficult when trying to find it. 

Another option I have is to find somewhere less derelict and abandoned, and make it feel more dystopian by the way I film and construct the location. One option would be to look into filming in a local pub called the B2. The band often play in this venue, and it is a small room situated behind a pub, and has a dark dingy look to it. The fact the venue i small, it could be an advantage as it means I don't have to worry about making sure I have lots, and lots of actors for zombies to fill the space. 

Animatic

A good way to consider and plan and visualise films is to create an animatic. In year 10 we did a unit in Media Studies where we planned a music video so created an animatic.


VTS_01_1 by morrighanrocks

As you can see it does demonstrate what my intentions for the music video have been very clear in the animatic. Although it doesn't show all the detail in terms of camera angles and lighting etc. But I could have then develop my animatic later to show these details.

Once I consider the story to my music video more, I will create a story board that I then animate later to show the story of my footage better.

Demographics and Target Audience

We found a website online called YouGov Profiles, its a site that has gathered information from national census and other questionnaires to compile profiles for people. You have the ability to search a band or product or brand, and it will give you information on their age, where they live and social grade but also their lifestyle habits etc.

I searched bands similar to Black Syndicate to see what profile turns up.

As you can see the demographics are male, aged 25-39 and part of the C2DE category, which is correct to the information I gathered during my survey and the target audience I identified through personal experience of gigs and concerts of similar genres, but also what the band said they felt were their audience.

Questionnaire answers

After receiving answers from my questionnaire, I created an Emaze presentation to deconstruct and analysis' the answers I got.

Finding Actors

Although I'm filming the band for the video, I will also need lots of actors(bit parts) as the zombies in the video, so the best way to do that is to ask on social medias. I have 760 people on my Facebook, so theoretically they will all see my post requesting actors. But also the lead singer of the band i'm working with is also in my Media Class and always uses a website he found where up and coming actors request jobs, so I will also post the advert on there.

I decided that making an event and adding everyone who promise to come, and the make up artists is the best idea as that way getting the information to everyone is easier, but it also means I can constantly check who is ok to do what days and who is actually coming. The more people I have the easier, but on the other hand, as long as I know if I dont have loads. It gives me an opportunity to consider how I film it to make the most of however many people I have as actors.

Plan to ensure I have all the necessary primary and secondary audience research

Secondary;

• ABC1, what categorises people into the ABC1 (once Primary is done, link back to the ABC1 groups).
• BBFC age categorises, also look into the recently decision to censor music videos with an age restriction. 
• Apply Pete Buckingham concepts of audiences to my music video.
• Find 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory essay'

Primary;

• Questionnaires on Facebook, asking what people like in Music Videos (styles, themes, genre etc).
• Watch videos of the band and see who is in the audience of their performances.
• Interview the band themselves and ask who goes to their gigs.
• Create a focus group.

Further Problems with iMovie

Our school technician has spent a lot of time recently trying to get our versions of Final Cut to work. When we started our lesson this week, we believed that the version was working as I was no able to import my files. However, upon playing back the video I had put together I discovered it wasn't working.

For some files, when I play the videos there is video but not proper audio; only a beeping sound. And other file types would also have a beeping as the audio and just display an image in place of the actually visuals, saying 'unrendered'.

We got the technical to come and have a look at the program to see if they could help, he said that there was an issue with the program and the files were not being sorted in the correct folders from the program, so until he can fix this issue, the program wont work.

However, the school is considering getting the new version of Final Cut bought and installed onto the Macs.

Dead Man Blues Ideas

They said they'd love to do a Zombie Apocalypse video for their song Dead Man Blues.

This is the live recording of them performing the song at a Local pub;


The band also provided me with the lyrics to the song Dead Man Blues;

Main Riff (x4)

Verse (x4)

Woke up this morning,                      

Feeling dead inside,              

Society was swarmed,

By the infected tide.

The world’s overrun,      

And all hope is gone,

Devastation surrounds us,

But It’s time to move on.

Pre-Chorus (x2)

You only live once,

Or so I’ve been told,

It’s time you found out,

That the truth can be so cold.

Nowhere to run,

Nowhere to hide,

Hope of salvation,

has been cast aside.

Chorus (x2)

I’ll sing the dead man blues,

until the well runs dry,

I’ll sing the dead man blues,

Until it’s my time to die.

Main Riff (x2)

Verse (x4)

The dead own this land,

Now the rivers run red,

I’m being forced down,

the road that lays ahead.

I've fled from my home,

Into this land of despair,

If there’s someone above,

They Ignored all my prayers.

Pre chorus (x2)

I’m all alone,

And now I’m the freak,

Not a trace of hope,

And the future looks bleak.

The promise of refuge,

Is slowly wearing thin,

Our days are numbered,

God Cleanse our Sins.

Chorus (x2)

I’ll sing the dead man blues,

until the well runs dry,

I’ll sing the dead man blues,

Until it’s my time to die.

Main Riff (x2)

Bridge (x2)

Solo (Chorus x5?)

Verse (x2)

Death tightens its grip,

for one last attack,

This is my final hour,

and light fades to black.

If only we’d seen,

If only we had known,

that we were all destined,

to perish alone.

Pre-chorus (x2)

You only live once,

now the end has come,

My strength has been drained,

now my senses feel numb.

I’ve fought for my life,

Now blood stains my clothes,

It seems that This world,

Is coming to a close.

Chorus (x2)

I sing the dead man blues,

Because the well has run dry,

I sing the dead man blues,

Because I know it’s my time to die.

Main Riff (x4)

It’s my time to die

In terms of making a video about Zombie Apocalypse. It appreciate it will be difficult to make, and really push my skills and planning/time organisation, but that isn't a bad thing. I have been watching music videos for ideas and assistance in understanding how they are filmed, and remember the Biffy Cylro song Black Chandelier
Biffly Clyro Black Chandelier vimeo from NTSH London on Vimeo.

I have done some more research into a other music videos including zombies. I came across this website with a list of ten zombie music videos, ranking them to the best zombie videos;
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2012/10/walking_dead_zombie_music_videos.php

Number two on the list is Blondie- Mother; Blondie - "Mother" from Brian Zwiener on Vimeo.
.
I feel watching this it would be easy to make, but I really dont like the video. I feel it looks very basic and unprofessional. I feel the main issue is that due to the style of music, it isn't a very fast paced. When you compare this video to Biffy Clryos, the pace is very different, and I feel it works better when its faster. When it is slower like Blondies, the audience notice the poor acting and poor make up. Whereas when its faster pace you don't notice it as much. However, this video is good interms of the balance I want between the band and the zombies.

Number 5 was Peaches ft Iggy Pop- Kick It. PEACHES feat IGGY POP "KICK IT" from DAWN SHADFORTH on Vimeo.

I again feel like this one looks very basic and unprofessional. However the shots are faster in the majority of the video, meaning that it isn't as obvious that it was in Blondies video. It looks more like a parody video. But also, the video has no band clips in it, which I want in my video.

This unnoffical video for Jonathan Coulton is number 7 on the list; Jonathan Coulton - RE: Your Brains Music Video from Kirk Carson on Vimeo.
This video is definitely a parody. and not really want I want to do, but it does demonstrate how I could film the final band scene where the members have become zombies.

Update on Final Cut Express Progress

For about three weeks I have been tying to upload videos to Final Cut Express, but was facing problems at very stage. From actually having a lincese on a working Mac, to actually get the clips into the software. The manual and everything I read online stated that the clips should be added though the Log And Transfer window, in a MOV or MP4 format, however it wouldn't let me upload a video on that format, or any formats at that. 

So in todays lesson, I looked at it in a different angle. So tried to convert it in a software called MPEG Streamclip, a software I has seen used in some videos or articles about uploading to Final Cut Express. But even when I tried to add the video though the 'Log and Transfer' tab it just didn't work. So looking at more videos, I came across someone who uploaded it through the import file tab on the file tab. Before this hadn't accepted any of my file types, however after converting one of my clips to evey single file type available to convert to on MPEG Streamclip, there were four it let me open; DV, AVI, WMV and MP4. However as you can see from below, when I actually added the clips to my timeline, it wouldn't let me play them but instead display an image reading unrendered. When I googled this error message it was hard to follow the issue, 

In the end I discovered that the DV file didn't didn't display this message, as you can see here. 

Upon further research when I got home from Sixth Form and wasn't faced with any blocked websites, I came across this answer and advice explaining the error message; 'any time you edit your movie, you need to re render it, it does take a long time to do for the first time, but as you make only minor changes in your video, you can render it faster, but to render the audio and video, you need to press "alt+R". For more detail just look in the sequence menu on the bar on the top of the screen.' So when I'm back at Sixth Form and on the Macs I will try this,

Meeting Up With The Band

On Monday 29th September I meant the band after school to talk through some ideas for my work. Below is the image of my notes from the meeting with the band.

The band already have a EP with album art, created by Sam Shepard's(Lead vocalist) mother.

The name of the album they are in the process of creating is Revolutions, and maybe including the themes of the EP artwork would be best (Red and Black). album is about self discovery, God angry at sins created so cleanses the world(but written by Aesthetes so has that feel)

Dead Man Blues(Rocky Blues)- their idea for the video, Zombie Apocalypse, kills the band. They feel it would be very hard to film, so Demon is the other option; A typical metal song. If I were to do this song, they would want a red neck, hair metal parody.

Overall theme of their band is Black, with bits of Red and White like I assumed.

The website:

A member of the band has already started to create a website, but gave up. So he intends to find the site for me, to see and take inspiration from.

In terms of logistics they want red, black and white. with a homepage full of links, and a band photograph at the top.

Website Style

The look of the website is also very important. It needs to work and conform with the style of the music video and of the CD cover. To make me website i will be using Wix. I have got screenshots of a couple of website layouts that I could use for my website. The look to the website will in most cases be completely different but I have put them in as examples of what I could do in terms of layout.

The website to left is very simple but allows me to change is a lot. The theme is nice, however has more of a film style to it, rather than music.

This website has the potential to be very eye catching, obviously all the pictures and text be would be changed. It has a simple lay out, that can easily be made more personal and effect for the style of band I am working with.

This website like the previous is very simple but that isn't always a bad thing. One plus both these websites have is that the home page allows me to fill it with an image of the band for the audience to see as soon as they open the page.

This page is again similar to the previous two, however it is set to have more information shown on the front page. However it does also have a classy, higher class more prestigious look to the work, something I don't necessarily think it appropriate for the band I am working with.

This is the best style of page I feel. It gives me the ability to make the whole homepage a picture of the band, meeting a convention of many band websites from many genres, but unlike the previous pages, you can scroll up and down on each page, whereas on the previous styles, the page was everything you could see in the image. This style also still has tabs like before. I think this would be the best choice of website, as it looks professional, but most importantly, it means I can put the most important aspects of the website and latest news on the homepage for the audience to find straight away.

To prove that the rights can be edited to look more appropriate for the genre of music I'm working with I put together a quick mock of a website for the band Pantera. I used them as Black Syndicate have said they take a lot of inspiration from Pantera. As you can see the site style still looks effect in a completely different genre. 

Helpful Links

I was looking at the websites of different bands, and came across this artical going discussing what makes a good band website

Screenshot of the website I have found

http://www.myinkblog.com/elements-of-a-great-band-website/

The website works very well as it clearly breaks down the key things your website needs:
Band photo and member info
Showcase the music
Merchandise
Events
Newsletter
Contact Information

I do need to take this with a slightly different outlook, as this covers the whole website and I am just doing the homepage, but is still helpful and clear what to include.

Problems With Final Cut Express

I have tried to work on Final Cut Express to make my practice/experiment, however we have had a huge amount of issues with the software.

The only computer in our class that has the license uploaded has no Chrome, meaning when I get stuck working on it, I cannot use the internet for helping, resulting in me constantly switching between computers. Also, Final Cut Express requires the files to be in a MP4 or MOV file type, but even when I converted my files using Handbrake into this format, they still didn't upload. I have now spent three lessons trying to get past this issue, but it still isn't working. My tutor has recently found the handbook for the software, so I will read through the booklet to help, in hope that by next lesson I will be able to work on the software.

The genre of my products

Genre has become very difficult to distinguish between into clear set out genres and groups, as the boundaries between different genres have blurred, hence the emergence of hybrid/sub genres. However you can still work around the sub genres the band falls into(Heavy Rock/Heavy Metal), even the bands itself can't give themselves a clear genre as quoted of their Youtube page, 'Citing influences from all sorts of places (the guitarist being into blues and the drummer into heavy metal!)'

Attempting to use iMovie to create a Music Video

Over the summer holidays I wanted to film to create a practice music video, to explore how I create a video that cuts between different shots and angles, in an interesting and coherent way. However I found it very, very difficult to do this. It was not easy at all to create a video that cuts between shots. On programs like Final Cut, you have the ability to layer video over the top of other videos, in different section, giving you the ability to play either one, more, or all videos. This means that to create a video that flows from shot to shot is very easy. You simply line the videos up to start at the same point, then cut out section of all the videos, bar one to leave just one shot.

Practice video from morrighan humpleby on Vimeo.
(please make sure you keep it quite at the beginning as there was a sound issue, causing the end section to be incredibly loud)

Here is the video of my first attempt at creating the music video. It isn't even a minute long, yet to create that it took me nearly an hour. The only way I could create the video, was try to cut all the shots to start at the beginning of the song, and cut each interval at the same size. So I cut all the shots of the song, to 13s, then 9.2s, 3.5s etc, and then cut the section together from different shots. [INSERT SCREENSHOTS OF THE PROCESS, AND THE VIDEOS CUT INTO DIFFERENT SECOND INTERVALS] As you can see, it was very hard to make it coherent, and flow from one shot to another.

Our media classroom has four licenses to Final Cut. Next lesson I will try to create the video using Final Cut, too see how I find that. I will then do a comparison between the two.

Changes To Idea

I have considered my idea of using Powder paint for quite a while now, and after listening to more of Black Syndicates music, I have come to the conclusion that using powder paint wouldn't fit the style of their music. As much as I love music videos in the rain, it isn't practical as neither me or any of the band members have enough money to buy fake instruments to prevent damage.

The band have said that the main inspiration for their music is 'Pantera', so I watched some videos of theirs to help me generate ideas. Following a conversation with one band member, where he expressed how much he enjoys one of their videos particularity; Mouth Of  War
Pantera-Mouth For War from cagdas on Vimeo.

He said it is the bands favourite music video because of the way it looks. This is a style of music video I would like to create, one focusing on the cinematography and aesthetics of the video. This video is visually incredible and makes for a memorable music video. This is something I would love to achieve, watching this video gives me so many ideas for what I would like to achieve in my own work.

Many other bands produce music videos in a similar way,

Split Screen

Here is a video I found looking into how to create a split screen in Final Cut Pro X, this isn't the software we have, we have the older version Final Cut Express, but the information is still valid and helpful to some extent.

Style of Video

In terms of the aesthetics and look of my music video, there were two ideas I have been thinking about for a while. Filming it in the rain, to give a dramatic, dystopian look to the video. However I was aware the members of the band wouldn't like that idea, as it would damage their equipment. The other idea I had was to use Powder paint. It means that I could get the same shots I would achieve with water but shouldn't damage the instruments. I did feel it was important to look into whether it would damage the instruments at all, but it proved to be very difficult. However I found music videos that use paint, such as the Blue Man Group, as you can see in this video, the use paint on the drums. It isn't however powder paint.




I have also put a post on social networks to see if other people can think of a music video where powder paint it used.

There are places I can buy this powder paint(holi), it isn't too expensive, but I can also make it. I have found a series of very helpful videos on YouTube as to how to make these paints. 

It is very easy to get hold of though if I decide not to make it, I can buy it from places like Ebay and Amazon, in a vary of colours and sizes.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TEMPERA-POWDER-PAINT-X-4-500G-TUBS-BLUE-GREEN-BLACK-RED-/331209258490?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item4d1d9c35fa

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fluorescent-Powder-Paint-Blue-2-5kg-/321476647137?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item4ad98058e1

Black Syndicate

A friend I have is part of a band, they play at a local pub, and Norwich Waterfront, and also take part in competitions, all in aim to grow as a band. The band is called Black Syndicate.

Below is a link to the bands YouTube page;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClGvCKZI8cPoKx2WCWepKCA

Their YouTube page includes live videos of their songs, a video reviewing the their EP release. In their about tab is a description as to the mix of music they play; 'Black Syndicate are a hard rock/metal band hailing from the delightful city of Norwich. Citing influences from all sorts of places (the guitarist being into blues and the drummer into heavy metal!) we like to make the most out of our experiences with music and come together to make some of our own!'

I started a chat with the band on Facebook to discuss the plans for the project with them all. Below is a screenshot of the start of the chat, explaining my plans.

I also asked the members of the band if they had an preferance on what song to use, or what style of video they would like to have.  At this point throughout the chat, only one person was replying consistently, so he has given the initial views on the plans, as you can see from the screenshots of the chat.

Below is the part of the chat, asking for opinions of the style of music video. The band did a metal cover of Ghostbusters, and it made me think it would maybe be quite fun to do a parody video. Many rock/metal bands to parody, or atleast silly music videos. Bands like Foo Fighters and Tenacious D.

The best know Tenacious D video is 'Tribute'.

As I said, Foo Fighters also do very non-serious music videos too; 

The two bands even work together to make videos, like this one; 

Although Tenacious D's part in the video is small, they do feature. 

This idea of parody, non serious music videos, some would say originated with Queen, who notoriously created most of their videos in this style. The most famous being 'I Want To Break Free';

 

There are clear challenges and benefits of working with a local band, and a band made up of some of my friends. I have the advantage that one of the band members is in my Media Studies band, so I can occasionally catch up with him briefly if needed. But I also trust the band to be helpful and turn up to shoots and meets etc. However on the other hand, as I know them, I'm aware that they aren't always the most sensible people all the time, which could be an issue if as I need them to focus so I can get my work done to the best of my ability, and not mess the other actors around that have offered their time to help. In addition I could be faced with the situation where they want something that I either cannot physically do or not allowed to do. So will ultimately might have to create something that they don't like or are interested in. 

iMovie- Split Screen Effect

Below is three images where 'split screen effect' has been used, and demonstrates how I could use it in my work.



When thinking of ideas for my music video, I knew I wanted to push myself and the skills I have, but also I wanted to create a very interesting music video that wasn't just standard shots. One idea for how I wanted to achieve this was to have a split screen at points, so you can see more than one of the band member's at any point.

Below is a video I found helping you to create that effect, and showing one way you can create it.



The pictures above don't all show what I really want my work to look like, but it gives you an idea of the way it can look.

Here is also a few music videos that use split screens;




In year 10 I created an animatic for an AC/DC music video, and I used the effects of split screens, and below I will embed the final animatic, which is very close to the thing I am going for.

Helpful videos

I have come across lots of videos helping you to create music videos, on any buget, I will list them below and explain how they were helpful.



It has a lot of simple but important and effect tips, such as considering continuity and camera angels. It also briefly goes into the basics of Adobe Premier.



This is a much more professional and helpful video. It has more detailed description of what they did, but also tips I wouldn't have considered, such as a countdown to the start of the music, to allow syncing footage and sound easier. Also, it went into detail about a very important and helpful part of the filming process. My current idea for my music video is to film the band, which is what they did in the youtube video. He said the way he achieved that was to focus on filming each band member through each run of the track, then move to the next band member. They also include a back story to the music video, another idea I want for my music video. It was helpful to see how they edited the footage together, from the back story to the band. He said all he did was create the full music video from just the band, then cut and add in the back story. And here is the final video, I think it is very good, and is pretty much what I want my music video to look like, but obviously I will have a much lower budget than the people who made this. 

This video make it look like it is very easy, however there could be a lot more barriers when I create my own video; more than the directors/producers of this video.

Such as;

• My production budget is very small
• I'm limited on location spaces
• The quality of my equipment isn't as good
• Finding actors/bit parts could prove to be difficult

Summer Work

Over the summer holidays, I need to ensure I get ahead in my work, to be on track when I return to year 13.

To assist in staying ahead, I have created a mind map showing 10 things I must or at least plan to get done this summer holidays. Attached below is a picture of my mind map.

As you can see I  have split the ten tasks into two sections, practical and research. Its likely that I will get all research tasks done, but some tasks will be harder, for example seeing the band playing will be hard to ensure I do this summer as they might not play this summer but I will try.

07/09/14:
Looking back at this post, I can see I didn't get some as much as I wanted to. I intended to get more done, however there were boundaries such as my part time job, other coursework, University open days etc. But also some I just couldn't achieve, such as seeing the band play; but they didn't do a gig during the holidays, so I couldn't complete that task. I did get a lot more of my Research based tasks as there were less barriers in place for those tasks.