Progress

I must have listened to 'The Great Nothing' a good 20 times today, and my understanding of both the lyrics and my awareness of the tempo and general instrumental side of the song has increased dramatically, and that will help with my timing what cuts I plan to use with the video, which I also began today.

Some Simple Shot Ideas

Here are some simple shot ideas that we could use in the video:
- Overview of drum kit
- Bass drum close up
- Close up of cymbal
- Close up of guitar, angled facing up towards the end of the guitar.
- Same view of other guitar
- Medium shot of Dan
- Medium shot of Matt
- Close up of Rory with mic (in stand).
- Nick close up
- High angled shot of the band playing
- Eye level shot of the band playing
- Eye level shot of Nick singing
- Over the shoulder shot of Glenn playing the drums
- (Unclean Lyrics) Close up of mouth
- Shot of Nick in the close, Rory in the far, switch of focus, during when they are both singing
- When the band are being very lively, we would use longer shots.

Obviously, we'll develop these into better ideas, with more shot angles and we shall develop the ideas of camera movement. Furthermore, once we know the setting, it will be easier to determine what shots we can use, as well as the lighting. Also, whilst filming, we will without doubt have some spur of the moment ideas for different shots, and the band will also have a say in what they are willing to be filmed, although hopefully that will not be much of a hindrance.

Details About The Band

Just some simple information about the band, so when I use names in descriptions of shots etc you know which member of the band I am talking about.

Nick Nowak - Lead Vocals
Rory Bevis - Guitar/back up vocals
Glenn Rice - Drums
Dan Smith - Bass Guitar
Matt Dudley - Guitar

Furthermore, their music is a progression of rock, known as post-hardcore.

Their Facebook page is here.
Their Myspace page is here.

Lyrics to 'The Great Nothing'

Here are the lyrics to 'The Great Nothing' by A Crash Course In Collision, The song we're planning on filming our music video with:

Is this your idea of killing time?
You're crushing bones with words
And to make matters worse you're still some kind of friend to us.
A man of profound history you stole away our dignity
But we're still alive, and it's all because of you.

Maybe we just understand each other,
A bit too perfectly
But now you're shouting at me through closed doors this time
Surely it's a remedy, but it's so sad to say
You're nothing to me.

Sound alarms, hold the phones, it's time we take over the town
This has never meant more to me like this very inspiration
This view has never been so clear
And we're making our mark

MAYBE WE JUST... understand each other,
A bit too perfectly
But now you're shouting at me through closed doors this time
Surely it's a remedy, but it's so sad to say
You're nothing to me.

You've had your day, and we're on our feet without you.
You've had your day, and we're on our feet without you.
You've had your day, and we're on our feet without you.
(Without you)
You've had your day, and we're on our feet without you.
You've had your day, and we're on our feet without you.

'Motivation' - Sum 41 Video Analysis

- The video is set in what seems to be a bedroom, which suggests that this could just be a band practice.


- The opening shot is a tracking shot across the bedroom to help establish where they are. The only sound is the drum being played, and while the lead singer (Deryck Whibley) jumps to play his guitar, there is a cut to him from the front. This signals the rest of the band to begin playing.






- This only takes 6 seconds.


- There are then many fast cuts as they establish the band playing the introduction to the song, in various part of the room. This means we can better establish the band members and we also are conveyed, through the cut speed, the tempo of the music. This tempo drives the pace of the music video its self, which is why there are so many fast cuts.



- The first vocals are shown through an extreme close up shot of Deryck, as he sings into the microphone. We are now made aware of who the lead singer is. Furthermore, the record company demands many close ups of the star of the band, to increase the ability of the star to market himself and the band.






- Although there is very little camera movement, the pace of the cuts is very fast as we keep moving around the room from band member to band member, so we have an idea of everything that is happening in the room.


- At 1.43, it uses a lamp shade to frame a shot of the bassist in the near and the lead guitarist far away. This helps add to the idea that this is only a band practice as it is just a common household item, something that would not be found at a gig.






- It then goes onto use the same tracking shot as it did to establish the scene, yet this time we see every band member playing their respective instruments. This helps add an element of continuity to the video.



- At 2.03, we see the music slow in tempo, and only one guitar is playing. This then shows the members of the band doing things such as being on the phone or playing darts, as they would in a break. This makes the band members seem more realistic, and it also adds a air of comedy to the video, especially with Dave Baksh eating fish food.






- However, we see the basist from behind, still with his guitar on, which lets us know practice is still happening.





- The closing shot is of Deryck's mouth engulfing the camera in darkness, which signifies the end of the video with a slight comedic twist.





There is a distinct trend to music videos recorded by Sum 41. They always use a slight comedic aspect to their videos, and also use a slight immature theme as it allows them to connect with both the younger audience, and the immature side of the older generations. This is shown in videos such as 'Walking Disaster' (based on the trials and tribulations of a toy robot), 'Hell Song' (Dolls used to represent the band playing live, with many celebrity dolls in the audience. This exposed the corrupt and antisocial behavior of celebrities behind closed doors) and 'In Too Deep' (which showed a diving competition, with the band members competing s a team and performing random diving stunts which are not in keeping with the austere environment of a diving competition).

Sophie's Video Analysis

Sophie has analysed the music video 'Elvis ain't Dead' by Scouting For Girls.

It has a combination of performance and a storyline.

If you want to see it, have a quick look.

Story of the Year- Until the Day I Die

The video on which the times were based in the text had disabled embedding 'by request'. So I'm posting a link here.

- The opening shot is of various bottles smashed on the floor. This is as the guitar is starting to sound in the background.




- The first 6 seconds are all of the guitar building up, with 3 different cuts. We then see a fly which flies across the screen, this accompanied to a cut brings the lead singer (Dan Marsala) into the audiences view. He begins to sing whilst still out of focus.




-He comes into focus briefly at 0.09 before another cut.



- This high amount of exposure to the lead singer is almost inevitably due pressure from the record company wishing to establish him as an icon or star.



- It continues with the same chords being played on the guitar in the background with his vocals laid over it for roughly 15 seconds. It uses a large amount of shallow and deep focus.


- At 0.24, we see the first cut to the live performance, but the first thing we see is the guitarist mid way through a jump whilst playing the guitar.



- For the next 10 seconds, we have varying cuts of the band members performing. This helps establish the people who are in fact in the band, as in this video there are many shots of individuals in the crowd singing along, and this helps distinguish between the band and the crowd.




- At 0.35, we cut to the lead singer no longer on stage on his own, in a similar setting to the start of the video. This signals the beginning of the vocals again. Once more, this helps increase exposure.




- The music video effectively uses the crowd, as it shows many singing along and obviously enjoying the experience.



- At 0.43, the lyrics say 'I die too', and he pats his heart.



- In the live performance, there are many many cuts between the band members. Also there is a large amount of camera movement, to put emphasis on the idea that YOU are in the crowd.

- This is further reinforced at 0.59 when a low angled shot from within the crowd, facing towards the stage, helps add to this idea of actually being there.



- The camera even moves in time with singer nodding his head at 1.27, with the camera panning up and down.

- At 1.45, we hear the words 'My hands are at your throat', and he points to his throat.



- Even when he is singing on his own, the camera is still moving.



- During the unclean vocal section of the song (scream) we have an extreme close up of the singers mouth. This is at roughly 2.25.



- Drummer spins his sticks in his hand when he isn't playing. This is a close up shot and helps increase the audiences estimation of the bands skill.



- The lyrics repeat 'My hands are at your throat', but this time we see the audiences hands all around his throat. This helps increase the audience interaction with the band.




- At 3.04, the music begins to become more heavy again, and to signal a return to the live performance we see a member of the crowd, or possibly the band, run and perform a back flip. This helps increase the enjoyment of the performance, as it makes it seem more extreme and dangerous.




- The last shot of the live performance is of the bassist playing the final chord. While this is playing out we see the singer alone again, and the shot cuts are similar to the start of the video.

Change of Plans

We have been considering whether the tempo of Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons is fitting with the idea we decided that we should change our music video idea.
This has led us to contact a friend who is in a band (A Crash Course In Collision) and asked if they would be willing to do a performance video of one of their songs. We are going to use the song 'The Great Nothing' which is approximately 3.25 minutes long.
This means we now need to look for:
A new setting
Find a date that suits everyone
And plan out what we're going to shoot, e.g. what angles we'll use etc

Letter to acting school

We are struggling to find people to use in our music video. We are definitely need to find two boys to use. Sophie then had the genius idea to email an acting school to borrrow people who 100% actually want to act.
Here is the letter:

To whomever it may concern,


Our names are Sophie Brown and Alex Newcombe and we will be producing a music video for our A2 (G324) Media Coursework.
We would like to enquire into the possibility of using 2 or 3 of your acting students in our mock music video.
The video will not be broadcasted or shown to the public, however it will be seen buy our fellow peers (for peer marking), our teacher and the examination board.
We would like to keep cost to a minimum as we feel this will give valuable acting experience. The actors will need to be between the ages of 16 and 19 and we will need 2 boys and possibly a girl (we will alert you in the near future whether this will be necessary or not). The actors will have a fair say in what they feel comfortable doing and we will gladly take to account any preconceptions they may have.


We look forward to your reply,


Sophie Brown and Alex Newcombe

Second Draft of Letter to Island Records

A few small changes have been made by Sophie. We now need to run it by our teacher and hopefuly we'll be able to send it off (:


Dear Sir/Madam/Whomever it may concern/Island Records,

We are writing to ask permission to use the song ‘Little Lion Man’ by Mumford and Sons in our A2 (G324) Media Coursework. It is for the Advanced Portfolio in Media. If we receive permission to use this song we would attempt to create:

- A Music Video for the song
And then two of the following three options:
- A website homepage for our fictional band
- A cover for its fictional release as part of the Digipak (CD/DVD Package)
- A fictional magazine advertisement for the Digipak (CD/DVD Package)

The people used in this video will be unrelated to the band, and the video and other creations will NOT be sold or released to the public on sites such as ‘Youtube’. The only people to see this will be ourselves, our peers (for peer marking) and the examination board.

We eagerly await your reply on the matter.

Yours Sincerely/Faithfully,

Alex Newcombe & Sophie Brown

First Draft to Island Records

This is the first draft of our letter to Island Records, where we ask for permission to use the song.
Obviously there shall be some changes but this is what I could think of and I'm waiting to see what Sophie thinks of it.
So, VOILA!

Dear Sir/Madam/Whomever it may concern/Island Records,

We are writing to ask permission to use the song ‘Little Lion Man’ by Mumford and Sons in our A2 (G324) Media Coursework. It is for the Advanced Portfolio in Media. If we receive permission to use this song we would attempt to create:

- A Music Video for the song
And then two of the following three options:
- A website homepage for the band
- A cover for its release as part of the Digipak (CD/DVD Package)
- A magazine advertisement for the Digipak (CD/DVD Package)

Of course the people used in this video will be unrelated to the band, and the video and other creations will NOT be sold or released to the public on sites such as ‘Youtube’. The only people to see this will be ourselves, our peers (for peer marking) and the examination board.

We eagerly await your reply on the matter.

Yours Sincerely/Faithfully,

Alex Newcombe & Sophie Brown

Previous Confusion is covered

The recent confusion between which company we needed to contact to ask permission to use the song has been sorted out!
We (mainly my fault I admit) took the logo on the privacy policy to be Record Label for the band. However, we then discovered that the Record Label was in fact Island Records. This left us confused as to who to contact, but while looking through the Island Records website, I discovered that the Privacy Policy is by the same company as the Mumford And Sons website.
So rejoice!
Problem solved. :)

Mumford and Sons Record Label

While researching Mumford and Sons, I have found several possible companies that could in fact be the record label for the band. Looking at the Privacy Policy it suggests that we should be looking to contact Universal Studios.
However, according to Wikipedia it says that the band's record label is Island Records in the UK.
However after looking further into the website, Island Records seems to have Mumford and Sons contracted to them.

The Start of Planning

I have started to plan out my media coursework for the year.
I am working with Sophie Brown and we have decided to do the option of the music video.
Furthermore, we are strongly considering the idea of doing the second options of a website for the band and a cover for its release.
Furthermore, we are planning on doing the song 'Little Lion Man' by Mumford and Sons.
We have planned out that we need to:
-Write to Universal Studios Operations Limited to ask permission for us to use the song
-Find suitable people who can star in the music video
-Find suitable locations
-Plan a storyboard

All of this should lead us to be able to successfully attempting to film the first draft of the music video.