Friday, 12 November 2010
The Pitch
This is the script from our pitch
Finding out information which could help us deduce the target audience has been harder than expected due to Bedouin Soundclash appealing to a niche audience in the UK, and therefore not featuring in many magzines and suchlike. However I have investigated using other means; On Bedouin Soundclash's facebook group, their genre is described as 'Reggae/Dub/Soul which gives us a rough idea of who might be listening; for example, they are not likely to be listened to by tweenies (8-12), old age pensioners, or perhaps certain subcultures such as 'chavs' or 'emos'. I also searched on youtube for their official video to 'when the night hears my song' and found this information: Bedouin Soundclash are from Canada and it's obvious that they have a loyal following in their homeland from the map showing the concentration of fans. The screen grab also tells us that they are most popular with females between the age of 13-17 which is a very small range compared to the male listeners aged between 18-34. NME.COM is Europe's biggest and most viewed music website. It has earned worldwide respect for its rock music news and features, which are updated around the clock. With 1.3 million unique users generating over 13 million page impressions nme.com is the U.K.'s premier music content website. It offers unparalleled access to an affluent young audience and a unique opportunity to communicate with them in an environment that they relate to and return to frequently - 63% visit the site weekly or more frequently*. 63% visit the site weekly or more frequently*. The nme.com audience is made up of key demographic groups that can be difficult to target through other media: - • 65% Male* • 50% 16-24* • 23% 25-34* • 79% ABC1* • Our readers are passionate about music and as a result of their close relationship with the site content they are far more responsive to advertising. Whether they are more positively disposed towards brands that they see as supporting their favourite site or accessing advertising that they see as particularly relevant to them and their lifestyles they are 33% more likely than average to have taken action as a result of seeing an advertisement on the site*. On Bedouin Soundclash's facebook group, their genre is described as 'Reggae/Dub/ Soul which gives us a rough idea of who might be listening; for example, they are not likely to be listened to by tweenies (8-12), old age pensioners, or perhaps certain subcultures such as 'chavs' or 'emos'. • Dub is a genre of music[1] which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre,[2] though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. Music in this genre consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings. It is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, emphasizing the drum and bass parts (this stripped down track is sometimes referred to as a 'riddim'). Other techniques include dynamically adding extensive echo, reverb, panoramic delay, and occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works • Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. • Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat, known as the skank • Soul music has its roots in gospel music and rhythm and blues. • • from the map showing the concentration of fans. The screen grab also tells us that they are most popular with females between the age of 13-17 which is a very small range compared to the male listeners aged between 18-34. 1. The track ‘when the night feels my song’, when first heard inspired us, and there led onto numerous ideas. 2. The first and main idea we had was to have a character walking towards the camera in the shot, this was directly linked to the song, of which had a bouncy/soft reggae feel. 3. Another idea sprung to our mind, of which we researched, liked the look of and hope to use in our video was eye-match software that would give continuity against the background as it changes. In addition to this it would make our video look more professional. Eye-match is when several photos are taken, making sure the eyes of the person are kept in exactly the same position in the image. The background, clothing, hair and other facial features can be altered, however, careful care must be taken to keep the eyes in the same position. Here is an example we liked the look of.
This is the recorded video of our pitch
Initial ideas
We brainstormed lots of rough ideas to give us an understanding of the direction we wanted to take this video, and also so that we could discard any bad or unrealistic ideas, whilst working with the good ones.
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Video Analysis
Bedouin Soundclash - Until we burn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtFfJLBZoRw
This video starts off by expressing its Regae/Alternative genre by immediately showing the band and thier related fashion, with waitst coats and trilbe hats and 'Mop' like haircuts which gives it a strong indicator to the audeince of the videos genre. Also The regae/alternative genre that Bedouin soundclash fall into genrally envlolves quite happy, and slightly upbeat music. This is shown in the video as there are many quick cuts, particulary at the begigngin when the camera is constandly cutting between shots of the rising sun pulsating in time to the music.
The band are represented as being very elite and superior in this video as they are the only people featured in a very bare desert landscape connoting that they are free and can do what ever they want, something that many of thier audeince will aspire to. This isolation makes the audience focus on them, potentialy promoting thier image as a band. The video also represents the band members as being quite epic, trekking across scorching deserts with thier instruments suggesting thier passion for thier instruments and music. This is shown by paralell editing, with long shots of them struggling, then it cuts to mid shots of them standing strong playing thier instruments, connoting that the desert cannot defeat them, which has a widder meaning that they are very strong as a band and it will take alot to defeat them.
The narrative of the video seems to be that the 3 band members are lost in the desert with only thier instruments, and the sun beating down on them. They struggle along with thier instruments on thier back untill they come across a car who gives them a lift to a nearby derelict garage where they are haloucinating, imagining such things as a woman drinking. This struggle is shown by many long shots and extreme long shots emphasising the harsh desert environment. around them This narrative fits in well with thier lyrics to the song. A good example being "until we burn into the sun" as this reflects thier struggle through the desert and emphasises the harsh sun that they are batteling against.
The audience to this video would be very similar to that I mentioned before in my "target audeince" post, young people who have a particularly strong interest in music. Perhaps people aged 16-24 who dress similar to the band with thier distinctive "indie" style, and who enjoy playing instruments as the band are shows as very loyal to thier instruments in the video, still carrying them in thier struggles along with basic needs such as water. This connotes the importance of the instruments that the band has, and creates an apeal to anyone who loves thier instrument as much as this.
Bedouin Soundclash - St Andrews
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhwjFRZ25pQ
The genre of this song seems to be more alternative and less regaee compared to many of Bedouin Soundclash's other songs. This is reflected within the video by lots of movement and goings on with in the mis-en-scene, such as the lead singer walking through the crowded bar then picking his guitar up and playing straight away. Also it is obvious from the video that the genre is one that is upbeat such as alternative as there are lots of fast cuts, pans, and close ups of people smilling connoting a 'happy' feeling which matches the upbeat alternative genre.
Similar to that of 'Until we Burn' the band, and especially the lead singer are represented as being very 'cool' and superior. He is shown walking through the bar recognising and knowing the majority of the people on the way which suggest the bands popularity, something that is very important in the promotion of the band. Another similarity with the representation of the band is thier dominance with in the video. This video shows many other people but only breifly and the band are still the main focus, demonstrated by the long tracking shot of the lead singer at the begging, then many group shots of the band playing thier instruments to the audeince in the bar. The bands representation of being popular and fun is emphasised by a series of shot-reverse-shots showing the band playintg then the audeince in the bar enjoying thier music.
The narrative of this video is split into two parts, where the lead singer is alive, shown by lots of quick cuts and and shakey camera movements to suggest the merry atmosphere in the bar. This whole segment of the video is shown in black and white to show that life is very standard compared with the videos interpretation of death shown later. The second part of the narative is happens after the fight in the bar when the lead singer supposidly dies. It shows this part in colour and it is made to be very dreamy by slow motion shots and lots of bright colours and a wide range of different cultured people all walking down the road together holding the lead singers coffin. However, the video turns back to black and white at the end as the beaten up lead singer gets up from the ground and walks on, again portraying the wider meaning of the band being very stong and undefeatable.
This video appeals to the target audience of Bedouin Soundclash by playing on the representation of stereotypes that the audeince may fall into. For instance many of the audeince will have similar lifestyles to that of bedouin soundclash, with thier fashion, activities and views. Therefore they will be able to relate to incidences such as the very large man that the smaller lead singer accidently hit. They will see the situation from the lead singers point of view with the man seeming very large and intimidating. This is shown by an over shoulder shot that is also a low angle looking up at the large man to emphasise his hostility. It is this relationship between the audeince and the lead singer that helps convey meaning from the video to the audeince.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtFfJLBZoRw
This video starts off by expressing its Regae/Alternative genre by immediately showing the band and thier related fashion, with waitst coats and trilbe hats and 'Mop' like haircuts which gives it a strong indicator to the audeince of the videos genre. Also The regae/alternative genre that Bedouin soundclash fall into genrally envlolves quite happy, and slightly upbeat music. This is shown in the video as there are many quick cuts, particulary at the begigngin when the camera is constandly cutting between shots of the rising sun pulsating in time to the music.
The band are represented as being very elite and superior in this video as they are the only people featured in a very bare desert landscape connoting that they are free and can do what ever they want, something that many of thier audeince will aspire to. This isolation makes the audience focus on them, potentialy promoting thier image as a band. The video also represents the band members as being quite epic, trekking across scorching deserts with thier instruments suggesting thier passion for thier instruments and music. This is shown by paralell editing, with long shots of them struggling, then it cuts to mid shots of them standing strong playing thier instruments, connoting that the desert cannot defeat them, which has a widder meaning that they are very strong as a band and it will take alot to defeat them.
The narrative of the video seems to be that the 3 band members are lost in the desert with only thier instruments, and the sun beating down on them. They struggle along with thier instruments on thier back untill they come across a car who gives them a lift to a nearby derelict garage where they are haloucinating, imagining such things as a woman drinking. This struggle is shown by many long shots and extreme long shots emphasising the harsh desert environment. around them This narrative fits in well with thier lyrics to the song. A good example being "until we burn into the sun" as this reflects thier struggle through the desert and emphasises the harsh sun that they are batteling against.
The audience to this video would be very similar to that I mentioned before in my "target audeince" post, young people who have a particularly strong interest in music. Perhaps people aged 16-24 who dress similar to the band with thier distinctive "indie" style, and who enjoy playing instruments as the band are shows as very loyal to thier instruments in the video, still carrying them in thier struggles along with basic needs such as water. This connotes the importance of the instruments that the band has, and creates an apeal to anyone who loves thier instrument as much as this.
Bedouin Soundclash - St Andrews
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhwjFRZ25pQ
The genre of this song seems to be more alternative and less regaee compared to many of Bedouin Soundclash's other songs. This is reflected within the video by lots of movement and goings on with in the mis-en-scene, such as the lead singer walking through the crowded bar then picking his guitar up and playing straight away. Also it is obvious from the video that the genre is one that is upbeat such as alternative as there are lots of fast cuts, pans, and close ups of people smilling connoting a 'happy' feeling which matches the upbeat alternative genre.
Similar to that of 'Until we Burn' the band, and especially the lead singer are represented as being very 'cool' and superior. He is shown walking through the bar recognising and knowing the majority of the people on the way which suggest the bands popularity, something that is very important in the promotion of the band. Another similarity with the representation of the band is thier dominance with in the video. This video shows many other people but only breifly and the band are still the main focus, demonstrated by the long tracking shot of the lead singer at the begging, then many group shots of the band playing thier instruments to the audeince in the bar. The bands representation of being popular and fun is emphasised by a series of shot-reverse-shots showing the band playintg then the audeince in the bar enjoying thier music.
The narrative of this video is split into two parts, where the lead singer is alive, shown by lots of quick cuts and and shakey camera movements to suggest the merry atmosphere in the bar. This whole segment of the video is shown in black and white to show that life is very standard compared with the videos interpretation of death shown later. The second part of the narative is happens after the fight in the bar when the lead singer supposidly dies. It shows this part in colour and it is made to be very dreamy by slow motion shots and lots of bright colours and a wide range of different cultured people all walking down the road together holding the lead singers coffin. However, the video turns back to black and white at the end as the beaten up lead singer gets up from the ground and walks on, again portraying the wider meaning of the band being very stong and undefeatable.
This video appeals to the target audience of Bedouin Soundclash by playing on the representation of stereotypes that the audeince may fall into. For instance many of the audeince will have similar lifestyles to that of bedouin soundclash, with thier fashion, activities and views. Therefore they will be able to relate to incidences such as the very large man that the smaller lead singer accidently hit. They will see the situation from the lead singers point of view with the man seeming very large and intimidating. This is shown by an over shoulder shot that is also a low angle looking up at the large man to emphasise his hostility. It is this relationship between the audeince and the lead singer that helps convey meaning from the video to the audeince.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Target audience of band
By looking at www.bedouinsoundclash.com my first impression of the target audience is definately young people, that like band/instrumentaly produced music, perhaps playing instruments themselves, but also enjoying more upbeat synthasises music. The website features many photos of the band with thier instruments, and has a very relaxed feel to it. For instance the background picture is a tree which signifies calmness and gives and represents the more chilled out reggae/alternative rock music that appeals to "indie" people that follow local band and may be in a band themselves.
The language used on the website is very colloquial and snappy; "at the show", "you and the band" which gives the band the image of a fast paced lifestyle which helps target its younger audeince who have most probably/would like to adapt this lifestyle aswell.
In terms of socio-economics Bedouin Soundclash's target audeince fall into bands D and E, involving semi skilled and casual labourers such as waiters and shopworkers. This is because this is the type of job that many of the young fans will have, most probably only part time as they are still in education, meaning that they will probably live with thier parents and have lots of disposable income to spend on music, and lots of free time to listen to a wide range of music, compared to others thier age (16-24).
Bedouin Soundclash featured on the front cover of Chart music magazine in 2005. The Chart music magazine also has many signifiers that it is directed at a similar, young regae/alternative audience. This is shown by many different font colours such as yellow, red and white, with a picture of the band standing in the background wearing alternative clothing, such as trilbies and casual waistecoats similar to what thier target audience would wear.
Chart Magazine (www.Chartattack.com/magazine)describes itself as a "youth culture provider", suggesting that the magazines target audeince is young people that are highly interested in "youth culture", with one of the main things being music, suggesting that the target audience to Chart, and therefore Bedouin Soundclash are young people who have a very strong interest in music, perhaps more so then the "average teen".
The language used on the website is very colloquial and snappy; "at the show", "you and the band" which gives the band the image of a fast paced lifestyle which helps target its younger audeince who have most probably/would like to adapt this lifestyle aswell.
In terms of socio-economics Bedouin Soundclash's target audeince fall into bands D and E, involving semi skilled and casual labourers such as waiters and shopworkers. This is because this is the type of job that many of the young fans will have, most probably only part time as they are still in education, meaning that they will probably live with thier parents and have lots of disposable income to spend on music, and lots of free time to listen to a wide range of music, compared to others thier age (16-24).
Bedouin Soundclash featured on the front cover of Chart music magazine in 2005. The Chart music magazine also has many signifiers that it is directed at a similar, young regae/alternative audience. This is shown by many different font colours such as yellow, red and white, with a picture of the band standing in the background wearing alternative clothing, such as trilbies and casual waistecoats similar to what thier target audience would wear.
Chart Magazine (www.Chartattack.com/magazine)describes itself as a "youth culture provider", suggesting that the magazines target audeince is young people that are highly interested in "youth culture", with one of the main things being music, suggesting that the target audience to Chart, and therefore Bedouin Soundclash are young people who have a very strong interest in music, perhaps more so then the "average teen".
Monday, 27 September 2010
Permission
To make sure that I avoid breaking any copyright laws I am going to send an E-mail to Side One Dummy (Bendouin Soundclash's Record Label) asking for permission to use thier song in my music video.
This is a screenshot of my E-mail to Bedouin soundclash's record company (Dine Alone Records), asking for permission to use thier song.
Click picture to enlarge.
Copyright is very important within the music industry, especialy recently as illigal download levels have risen dramatically. Copyright makes it illigal to sell or lend a given track or CD without the permission of the Artist or Songwritter. This is important as the main income that artists/songwritters rely on is that from record sales and royalties, therefore if people are people are illigally downloading, burrowing CDs, or using the song without permission then the artists/songwritters will recieve less money, jeperdising thier survival. And with no artist/songwritter there will be no music industy, and therefore no music.
Friday, 24 September 2010
Song Choice
The song that me and my group have chosen is Bedouin Soundclash - "When the Night Feels My Song". The reason that we have chosen this song is becuase it is one that we all like and instantly saw potential for a music video. This is becuase the song is very descriptive and therefore will help us to generate good ideas that relate to the lyrics. However, at the same time there is some randomness to some of the lyrics which will allow us to be creative.
The genre of the song is reggae/dub/soul which is ideal as it is an upbeat track, but is calm enough to be able to make an organised video to. Whereas some genres such as Heavy Metal may be too fast and hectic to make a profesional looking video to.
I think that another reason that we chose "When the night feels my song" is because it isn't as mainstream as many songs that we could have chosen. This is an advantage as the audience that see our song will be less likely to have seen its video compared to the likeliness that they have seen the video to a more mainstream song such as one by Lady Gaga. This will mean that they are less likely to have biased views on our video based on the original.
One other possible song that we considered as Mumford and Son - "The Cave". However after discusing the song we reaslised that the lyrics where a little too sombre and slow, as this doesnt suit our upbeat, happy ideas.
The genre of the song is reggae/dub/soul which is ideal as it is an upbeat track, but is calm enough to be able to make an organised video to. Whereas some genres such as Heavy Metal may be too fast and hectic to make a profesional looking video to.
I think that another reason that we chose "When the night feels my song" is because it isn't as mainstream as many songs that we could have chosen. This is an advantage as the audience that see our song will be less likely to have seen its video compared to the likeliness that they have seen the video to a more mainstream song such as one by Lady Gaga. This will mean that they are less likely to have biased views on our video based on the original.
One other possible song that we considered as Mumford and Son - "The Cave". However after discusing the song we reaslised that the lyrics where a little too sombre and slow, as this doesnt suit our upbeat, happy ideas.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Exploring Music Videos
Michael Jackson - Thriller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_MuUcxHATo&ob=av2e
The 'Thriller' music video was released in 1982 by Michael Jackson. It was hugely popular as a result of its originality and good use of conventions. The video is of the Pop/Rock genre which normally has happy connotations; However, the video constrast this as it uses very dull and dark colours such as blue and black alot which give it an eeiry feel.
Micheal Jackson is portrayed as very masculine, wearing a leather jacket, driving a big car, whilst not showing any fear throughout the video. On the other hand the woman features is represented to be very feminine and emotional, wearing a bright dress and running out of the movie, then screaming loud.
This video would of had a very wide audience as it was produced early on in the era of music videos and was a video for Michael Jackson would have had a very fan base. This video could have also apealled to people who didnt know of Michael Jackson as it has a stroy with it which can be followed.
2Pac - California Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWOsbGP5Ox4
This video is of the Hip-Hop genre and uses similar dark colours to that of 'Thriller', However the mass of people dancing in a less agressive and intimidating way to that of thriller means that the video gives a happier vibe of people having a good time. The lack of lighting, except for flashes and strobe lights throughout the video give connotations of a club which suits the Hip-Hop genre and audeince who are highly likely to go to clubs. The video uses all of the above to portray the greatness of California.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Californication
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlUKcNNmywk
Californication's video is largly animated with the band members represented in their 'Game character' form. The cartoon effect gives a surreal feel to the alternate rock video showing the band members having all the characteristics of typical game characters, running and jumping to avoid obstacles through the deteriorating city. This video may appeal to a wide range of people as it is quite a colourfull, easy video to follow, especialy those who like gaming as it shows the audeince the red hot chilli peppers in game character form.
Nirvana - Smells like teen spirit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg&ob=av3e
'Smells like teen spirit' is in the style of Grung and represents teenagers as being out of control and rebelling. It shows this by many teenagers in an underground, dark, dirty, smokey room with loud music playing whilst they mosh and push each other about. The audience to this video would be teenagers as they can relate to this over exagerated representation of teenagers. The meaning of this video is to make fun of how people mis-represent teenager and portray it in an over the top way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_MuUcxHATo&ob=av2e
The 'Thriller' music video was released in 1982 by Michael Jackson. It was hugely popular as a result of its originality and good use of conventions. The video is of the Pop/Rock genre which normally has happy connotations; However, the video constrast this as it uses very dull and dark colours such as blue and black alot which give it an eeiry feel.
Micheal Jackson is portrayed as very masculine, wearing a leather jacket, driving a big car, whilst not showing any fear throughout the video. On the other hand the woman features is represented to be very feminine and emotional, wearing a bright dress and running out of the movie, then screaming loud.
This video would of had a very wide audience as it was produced early on in the era of music videos and was a video for Michael Jackson would have had a very fan base. This video could have also apealled to people who didnt know of Michael Jackson as it has a stroy with it which can be followed.
2Pac - California Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWOsbGP5Ox4
This video is of the Hip-Hop genre and uses similar dark colours to that of 'Thriller', However the mass of people dancing in a less agressive and intimidating way to that of thriller means that the video gives a happier vibe of people having a good time. The lack of lighting, except for flashes and strobe lights throughout the video give connotations of a club which suits the Hip-Hop genre and audeince who are highly likely to go to clubs. The video uses all of the above to portray the greatness of California.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Californication
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlUKcNNmywk
Californication's video is largly animated with the band members represented in their 'Game character' form. The cartoon effect gives a surreal feel to the alternate rock video showing the band members having all the characteristics of typical game characters, running and jumping to avoid obstacles through the deteriorating city. This video may appeal to a wide range of people as it is quite a colourfull, easy video to follow, especialy those who like gaming as it shows the audeince the red hot chilli peppers in game character form.
Nirvana - Smells like teen spirit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg&ob=av3e
'Smells like teen spirit' is in the style of Grung and represents teenagers as being out of control and rebelling. It shows this by many teenagers in an underground, dark, dirty, smokey room with loud music playing whilst they mosh and push each other about. The audience to this video would be teenagers as they can relate to this over exagerated representation of teenagers. The meaning of this video is to make fun of how people mis-represent teenager and portray it in an over the top way.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Introduction
I have been set a task to research, plan and create a music video of my choice. By Doing this I will enhance the skills that I picked up from my AS coursework, such as analysing, rough planning and transfering all of my work onto a blog etc. I will also develop many new skills whilst carrying out the courswork, such as camera work, and editing software.
I will record all of my work into a blog format due to its easiness to use, and to be accesed, constantly updating my work onto the blogg as I complete it.
I will record all of my work into a blog format due to its easiness to use, and to be accesed, constantly updating my work onto the blogg as I complete it.
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