Location Scouting- 23/09/09

This is a prime location for my music video, with so much opportunity for a range of shots, an example being high angle shots from the bridge or long shots up the hill from the darkness of the underpass. It also adds that edgey, mysterious feeling walking into the darkness, and there also is a suprise when they reach the underpass, as the tunnel is full of amazing street art which link directly to the stereotypical punk scene, for example in the music video by The Prodigy "Take me to the Hospital" .

The graffiti theme feature throughout, but this is the point were we first see it the the video. This is a key signifier for the music video as it represents rebellious attitudes, and popular culture, the audience will be interested in the underground theme, and it also links to the Indie record label- unsigned bands being unproffesional, risk-taking and individual.

This is a shot from inside a car, again I would use it as an onlookers point of view going past at a normal speed (30 mph) then slowing down and maybe reversing to take a closer look at the group, observing there strange behaviour .

This is a good location to shot from at the end of this road, the still shot looking down the hill, shows a brilliant vantage shot looking across norwich into the direction that the group are going to take. Also the end of this road opens up into a T-junction with plenty of opportunity for a range of shots, i also know a few friends that live around this area, so I able to use their houses to get high angle shots from second floor windows like the house oppostite on the road.

the various shots above are the first roads that the main guy from the music video walks down this is a shot from the start of the video. This location was selected as the road is in a relatively quiet and has alot of access, also as you can see from 3 shots above, the window photopraghed is that of my friends, and is one of the locations i was going to use, for a shot from inside the house looking onto the street.

Track Link- Changed my mind (Heavy Duty Remix)

http://www.myspace.com/stebzinsession

Locations Map

This is the planned route for the filming of my my music video, including all the areas and locations that i have taken pictures of in my blog. The reason i have used such a large area for my Music video as i attempting to make a continuous feel to it, as the characters are constantly walking throughout the video. I have also decided to use these specific locations for a number of reasons which i will explain:

1. Firstly, i will be filming out of the window of one of my friends houses which is upon this route (shown in my locations pictures)
2. Secondly, the start of my music video needs to be in a place with wide open spaces and trees near a road, their is an ideal location in the form of Heigham park which is a location i know well so will make shot choice easier to plan.
3. As the band are from Norwich i felt including a famous monument of Norwich would add a nice touch but in a subtle way that will be noticeable by local audience members.
4. The final reason for choosing this location is that their is a small underpass i am going to use, which has some really good street art on the walls and will change the contrast of the video.

Character ideas- Casting- Revised*

Main Guy- Klinton English

Masked ?- Nick Smith

DJ ?- ME

Masked ?- Will Flynn

Masked ?- Klinton English

During the first plan of my production I had planned to use about 8-10 cast members, which for a small production like mine is a rather large cast. This would have meant at the time I would have not had the option to do auditions or be to selective about my cast. The role of the majority of the cast is very similar to one another and doesn't require great deal acting skill so I decided the best method for casting was to do a volunteer system, I found alot of people in my media class were willing to help as they are in similar situations and understand the importance. Although after I decided to re-think my music video plan, one of the major changes I made was to revert to a smaller more manageable cast size which would only involve 3 cast members including myself which wasn't ideal but it hadn't possible to implement such a large cast size. Also having an all male cast had not been what I wanted and from an evaluative perspective would be a weakness in my music video.

Killmonjambo- changed my mind (heavy duty remix)

I actually came across this version of the song by accident, at first I wanted to make a music video of the original track, but unfortunately for me they already had a music video. Although this wasn't such a bad situation, after getting in contact with the lead singer of the band, he sent me a remix that the band had had done to go on their EP coming out on the 3rd of October. The remix was of the genre of breakbeat/dubstep which is a interesting and useful genre for me to make a music video of, as it is the main type of music I listen too and also not many music videos have been made around this genre, which gives me the opportunity to work without conventions.

Electronic music is often linked with anination music videos, a prime example being the hit dubstep track, by Benga & Coki- Night, two of the pioneer DJ's of the Dubstep scene and something else interesting about this track, is it also the first Dubstep song to ever be played on radio one in 2007 and was also voted track of the year by Radio one's Gilles Peterson and his listeners.

The idea for my music video does not involve animation, but doesn't drift to far away from the Electronica Genre conventions . Utah Saints released Something good 08 which involved a fantastic music video to go along with it. It involves a man dancing in a peculiar fashion to the song in a bar and without any communication or interaction people begin to join him mirroring his exact dance moves. The feel the main characters in my video and in Utah saints play similar roles, like they are both possessed by the music with the most important part being no interaction with anybody else. The Utah Saints video did inspire me and I pay close attention to the shots used in this video when designing my shooting map.

costumes/props

The costumes for the characters in this piece are going to be pretty similar, to help show the sequence of all the characters doing the same actions in the video.

Main Character(male)- I have an image in my hood of what i would like this character to look like, and making sure his costume is appropriate will be influential to the success of the music video. A list of key items needed:

• A black hooded jumper is essential (opening sequence of video)



• A pair of jeans or maybe tracky bottoms either will be fine.



• A pair of trainers, although the design or style is not really important.



• A pair of headphones(part of props)

There will be approx. 9 other characters all together in the video, they will be wearing similar outfits to the main character, quite casual clothes, although some uniqueness is also required.

At this moment in time, I only have a few props i wont to use in my music video, the first being a trumpet, a trumpet is important as it is a key signifier of the original band throughout the track. The trumpet will be played in a variety of sections of the video, some points being the beginning and when the trumpet is played in the track.

The other main prop I will use is a bike, in more detail a man riding a bike. This will be used in the music video when a man rides towards the walking group but stops when he has passed them gets off his bike, takes off any equipment, leaves it all and also begins to follow them.

storyline- Music Video

The music starts with a hooded figure sitting upon the ground, at first it seems that he is acting strangly, almost disconnected from the rest of the world. He sits on the floor, holding his knees close to his chest, seemingly waiting for something. He abruptly stands to his feet, and draws back his hood revealing his face for the first time, he also withdraws some headphones from his ears, it at this point that the music starts. Again, completely still he stands like he is waiting for something or someone, all of the sudden he starts walking at a rather brisk pace, in a hurry to get somewhere.

The next scene sees him walking down a street pavement, again not interacting with anything or anyone, not stoping, acting like he is possessed. He turns into another street and keeps on walking, then someone walks out of a house behind him and starts to follow, although does not seem to interact with him at any point. The follower acts in the same possessed way as the first man. They turn another corner and are on a new street, more people this time 2 walk out of different houses, and follow with the first follower. The group begin to draw attention to themselves and people are looking at them funny, a few shots from inside peoples houses highlight the group strange activity.

Treatment for your music video

Name of Artist: killamonjambo

Title of Track : Changed my mind ( Heavy Duty Remix)

Outline of ideas: The scene starts with a hooded figure sitting on the floor with his hood up holding his knees tight, alone, the camera slowly rotating round him focusing on him at all times . no music can be heard at this point.

As the guy stands to his feet and takes off his hood the music starts playing he stands and stares for a few seconds, then he starts a brisk walk. The camera follows him hanging about 10 metres behind.

The scene cuts to him walking down a pretty standard street then out of nowhere some walks out of a house and without any contact with the man starts following him. They walk like they are in a hurry to get somewhere with only the want to reach there destination on there mind.

As he walks down different streets/ road people come out of their houses and start following him, with the same attitude as the first follower and the guy. Posessed by the music leading them somewhere.

It will also have occastional cuts to instruments and people singing the words when the play in the song .

They keep on walking till they reach a door they all go inside and the door closes behind them. then the camera point of view opens the door and walks in behind them to find themselves at a gig with everyone dancing.

Prodigy-Take me to the hospital- Analytical Essay

Prodigy- Take me to the Hospital

This is the third release from prodigy’s new album invaders must die and I will be analyzing the representation of the band in this video. The video take me to the hospital by the prodigy represents the group as dark, aggressive and rebellious. Prodigy have always been known for being a bit different in their image and there style of music, mixing their 1970’s punk-style dress codes and attitudes with a more modern style of electronica-punk music which has put them in some what of a league of their own with few bands in the genre being able to replicate their overwhelming success.

In this section I will be explaining my reasons behind describing The Prodigy as “Dark”. The setting of the music video in parts is a derelict mental hospital, which is rundown and gives an unwelcoming sense to the audience. The lighting in the video also helps create a dark atmosphere, with the only light in the video coming from unnatural light in the form of strobe and full beam lights. Also the description of “Dark” fits in with their lyrics; with one in particular that stands out “along came a spider he was creepy like Dracula”. Also there are a number of people with creepy bear masks and black hoodies, the majority with their hoods up which is associated with threatening behavior, they are also portrayed in a dark menacing way with an example being a shot of their shadows on a wall as a group runs past.

I also described the prodigy as being

Early Problems that arouse when choosing my unsigned band!

I have had some bad luck to the run up for selecting a unsigned band for this years A2 media coursework. My first problem arouse finding a good enough unsigned band to use for my video, the reason for the importance to have a good band is that i am going to have to make a music video for the song I choose. An example being a boring song is going to be difficult to turn into an interesting music video.

After getting some advice from my subject teacher my first choice was not going to be appropriate to allow me to get what i wanted out of my music video, so I started to look again to not much more success. I looked at bands like the Kabeedies and the Neutrinos but i found that they were both signed to record labels and both already had music videos for some of their tracks.

Then finally, I found a group which were great: Killamonjambo, a Norwich based band, who in fact the lead of this band I knew reasonably well as he was a family friend. Although another problem arouse when i found out my first choice song from them changed my mind, they had already made a music video for, so I hope I am still able to use them, except I will have to use another song which I am investigating currently.

A Music Video that I like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj8JrQ9w5jY
I was not able to embed this video as the record label YouTube would let me.
LCD Soundsystem- Daft Punk is playing in my house
The Music video uses Quick fast forwarding and rewarding as its main effect, and does this to great effect with the other reoccurring theme in the video being the traffic light system of colours. At the start of the video we see the the red green and amber lights and then it links to a section of the video at 0:23 where it zooms in on a mixer, still using the fast forwarding and rewarding effect, and the sound gage moves from green to amber to red and back a few times. Another superb feature of this video is the way, when the camera focuses on the singer even though he is moving constantly, it still looks like he is singing the words in time with the song. The lighting in the video, really helps compliment the Mise en Scene of the piece, for example the dark streets, allow the traffic light system to work and link in well with other sections of the music video, an example in 0:57 there are people dressed in morph suits in the colour scheme of Red, Amber and Green. The way the traffic light people work is also clever, and is similar to a section at the start of the video 0:23 as both the mixer and the people move in the same way with the same colours. There is also a repeating section of the video which goes in turn with the lyrics of the song; there are a variety of the of people in different fancy dress costumes, one being a skeleton suit and they are dancing in his house which would be normal if daft punk was playing in your house.

Is the music industry dominated by capitalist giants whose sole interest is making maximum profit?

Reason for choosing this topic?

it is a question i have a great interest to investage the answers that arise.



What do you expect to find out?

Answers that support my question also answers that go against the question, to create a final piece that has for and against arguements.



How will you express your findings?

I will display all of my findings on my blog, in the form of video interviews aswell as audio podcasts, along with written interviews, research, essays, quotes.



what research will you carry out?

1. Internet Research- research main major record labels and look at how long acts stay on their label-(turnover) Example: Kelly Rowland

2. Peer Reseach- What my peers think about the question(opinions)- Using a qustionnaire + interviews

3. Financial Reseach- See how much the major record labels make and how much successful acts make.