Meeting - Amy Kong

By communicating through facebook mail, we have decided the next task we are going to complete is research into different music video outlets avaliable on TV and internet. As an extra, we have added the market as another research area.

Arctic Monkeys music video research- Emma Murphy

Arctic monkeys- I bet you look good on the dance floor
Around 44 camera shots
Genre- indie
Video length- 2.56 minutes

The video begins with the lead singer introducing the song which is very rare for a music video as it is not expected for the song to be introduced to the audience. However, this does give a more personal touch to the video and creates a certain intimacy for the viewer.
The location is set in the same place all the time and is shown to be a recording room which could imply a TV studio as camera are seen at points in shots or an audition process for the band as there a people sitting in front of the band taking notes. The band are shown at all times playing their instruments and performing the song which draws the attention always to them alongside a very naturalistic feel to the video as there is no specific narrative or story just the band playing they’re music. The costume is just the bands own clothes which again creates a very minimal theme.
This also supports the indie/independent genre as they are the one making the music and featuring in the video at all times.
The camera shots range from a variety of shots which include extreme close up to low angle that shows the instruments being played and the passion and concentration from the band.
There is no specific pattern in relation to the editing however, the shots do change when the lead singer starts the verse or chorus and the camera is manly focused on him. Alongside when there is an instrumental the camera focuses on whoever is playing.
The lighting throughout the video is shown to be quite dark and almost dated with only small lights projected onto the band to highlight them whereas the rest of the room is quite dark. This again creates attention towards the band.


Arctic monkeys- Crying lighting
Around 62 camera shots
Genre- indie
Video length- 3.56 minutes

The video opens with the title of the song on the screen with a bird eyes view shot panning across a faded sea. This is quite unusual for an opening as the title for a song does not normally show up on the screen alongside the faded colour of a sea which creates quite a surreal opening. The camera shot then opens into a long shot of a old small battered sailing boat with the band members and their instruments on. On top of the boat there are small lights which highlight the band as the importance. However, the surreal element of the video supports the indie genre as the indie scene is known to be quite abstract and independent. This continues throughout as giant images of the band members at one point appear from the sea alongside the fact that it is unusual to see band playing on boats out at sea.
The costume and clothing is very similar to the other video in the sense that the band members are just wearing their own clothes and no costume or scene changes are made.
The camera shots range throughout from birds eye to over the shoulder which portrays different images. For example the close up on the bassist’s fingers when playing supports the music, showing the audience what they can hear which provides a connection with the band a plus the close up on his body language and face which indicates his concentration and is a quite personal for the audience to see.
The end shot is an over shoulder shot of a band member looking down a telescope which also gives the feeling that we are actually there in the scene with the band.
The lighting is quite dark again in this video sometimes even changing to a dim red which gives a chaotic sense as it is pictured on a choppy sea. The red lighting is also in connection with the lyrics during the bridge as they are quite sinister and the red colour signifies this as it could be perceived as quite a dark and angry colour.
As well as the lighting, the location is dark which could relate to the title ‘crying lighting’ as the sea is seen as choppy and stormy. Therefore, the whole location supports the title and lyrics as it is quite chaotic.
The editing is mainly a mix between lyrics and the music, for example, when the chorus plays the camera is focused on the lead singer at the beginning. However, during the verses or when there is a key instrument playing, eg. a drum beat, the camera shot changes to the person playing.
　
　
　
　

Kooks Music Video Research - Amy Kong

Kooks – Naïve

Length of video: 3:23

Genre: Indie rock

Shots: 69

Locations

Disco

Home

Street

Colours

·             Red – shots that were taken in the disco, all of the colour were in the tone of red. Red is a very extreme colour to express feelings, it can be seen as being related to romance, warning, guilt, pain and anger. This fully express the idea that he is lost in the mixture of feelings that he is having because of what happened between him and his girlfriend.

·             Neutral colours with brighter highlights – Shots of the main male and female in the bedroom was mostly in a neutral and ordinary colour. This reflects the happiness that they were having before the problems appeared and the brighter highlights used been to exaggerate the peaceful relationships they had.

Shots and editing

·             Not very many shots were used as it can express the idea of the depressed feeling that the character is having.

·             Long and tracking shots state the miserable feeling

·             Each shots in the beginning were around 9-11 seconds long but as it gets to the chorus the editing speed up to illustrate the mixture of feelings being overflowed and therefore uncontrollable.

Angels

·  Most of the angels in the beginning were mid shots to show that he is away from the audience, so it’s almost like he is feeling detached from the scene because of how he is feeling.

·  As he is in the crowd in the disco more close ups were used, this is because he begins to search for the female character and he is full of emotions during this time. Close ups can show his desperation.

·  Towards the ending, mid shots were used again because he has found her and realized what she was doing so he has given up.

Shine On

Length: 3:15

Genre: Indie Pop

Shots: 89

Locations
bedroom

Living room

Colours

·             Bright – Cheerful effect reflects the title shine on.

·             When the band is playing, the tone of colour seem to dim and creates much more shadows of the band to create a clandestine feeling.

Shots and editing

·             Most of the editing of the shots was in speed with the music and the drum beat. This brings a more cheerful and happy feeling to the song.

·             Straight cuts were used throughout the video, this matches with the up beat music that is used

·             Panning was the first shot that was used, it demonstrate the sun shining into the female character’s room and again reflects the song title ‘shine on’

Camera Angles

·             Mixtures of long shots and mid shots were used and this shows more of the things that were happening in the room instead of showing what the artist is doing.

·             Close ups were used when showing the facial features of the female character, this shows how much the male character want to get close to her.

Sway

Length: 3:52

Genre: Indie Pop

Shots: 92

Locations

Telephone box

Arcade

Colour

·             Black and white were used throughout the video

Shots and editing

·             The edits of the shots were matching with the beat of the music

·             The slow motion of the phone wheel spinning around can begin the music in a mysterious way.

·             Slow motions used to show that the male character is in charge of what is happening in the shot

·             Fades were used in the chorus to indicate the complex storylines used

Angles

·             Slow motions can slowly reveal each of the scenes in the video

·             Close ups  were used to show the emotions of the male character

·             Unstable camera movements – the instability of the character’s thoughts

·             Fade of the mid shot of the character – the detachment of his feelings

meeting - Amy Kong

As a group we went through the list of thing that needs to be included in this Popular Music Production Portfoilo, and we have began to allocate each task to each member. We began by researching into similar bands and genre, and we agreed to complete a research on 1 band per group member.

first brief + meeting - Amy Kong

In class we were given the first brief about the project and some guidance of what is expected of this project. Then we held a meeting to identify the basic ideas of the video - duration of the meeting: 7minutes.

The task for each members of the group today was to research into different music video outlets available on TV and Internet.