Final Music Video and Website

*Ensure to watch the following video in highest possible resolution/quality*

The following hyperlink directly visits to my most up-to-date website.

https://thecomedyshow01.wixsite.com/sdstrngs

Music Video draft 2

Website

My website

Music Video Draft

          

Practice Shots

The only shots that I needed to test were the dolly/pan shots. I configured a dolly setup and made a few clips of where it would be used. I found out that outdoors, it was too shaky and so I will only do pan shots indoors.

This video combines a couple of camera movements and I quite like how it turned out. I shall try and incorporate this into my video.

Here is the setup I made:

 

Location Recce Shots

Bedroom

Kitchen

Living Room

 


 

Costume photos

Singer - Myself

 Cap option 1 - sports hat

 Cap option 2 - denim

 Outfit without jacket (outdoors)

 Oufit with jacket (indoors)

 Sunglasses


Pianist - Ben 

Guitarist - Ross

Schedule and risk assessment

Schedule

Due to the fact I am using friends to film and not paid actors, I cannot plan an exact date(s) to film the video so I will shoot whenever everybody is available. I shall shoot the video in chronolgical order if I can, I think this will be easiest. I have 4 main scenes/locations - the bedroom, kitchen, living room and garden/street. I will allocate around an hour to an hour and a half for each. The outdoor scene is the only one that will be time critical so I may film it first or whenever the weather is suitable (high noon would be best as it would create the best natural lighting with hopefully less shadows).

Risk assessment

Scene 1 - the bedroom

I have very little hazardous equipment, my camera setup does not use wires and cables, so we are safe with that. We may have to move the bed around. I will be accompanied by an adult when/if this happens to avoid injury.

Scene 2 - the kitchen

The kitchen is less safe as there are fewer soft and cushioned surfaces like in the bedroom. I must also keep an eye out for the utensils and tools in this room. I shall have a first aid kit on standby if it is needed. I will avoid them whilst filming. Secondly, this setting is where the falling "heart attack" sequence takes place. Therefore, when the actor falls over, I will use padding on the floor, of course this must be out of frame.

Scene 3 - the living room

The living room is a safer environment. The actor throws props in this sequence so I must focus on keeping this as safe as possible. I might use a cushion such as in the kitchen. The high angle ceiling shot which I storyboarded may be hard to film without risk of injury so I might take it out of the shoot.

Scene 4 - garden/street 

If I choose the garden to film, I will be conscious of concrete and hazardous objects in the area, they will be disposed of for filming. However, if I choose the street, I will not only have to do the same as above but also watch out for traffic. If I have to film on the road, I will have someone on watch for oncoming vehicles, yet I live on a very quiet street, so we will be safe.

Props list

The band (instruments)

2 guitars - electric guitar and acoustic guitar

Microphone stand and microphone

Keyboard and keyboard stand

Extras

Clothing accessories - sunglasses and cap

Gaming controller

Photo frame

Skateboard

Storyboard for my music video

Website Draft

First Draft (home page)

Along with the one below, this image belongs on the slideshow on the top of the page and demonstrates the type of photography needed (there will be a minimum of 2).

This is the updated banner, after having made the decision that the linked page will be the about section.

Research (for the about page)

The Midnight-

This about page is very simplistic. Both the design and the text is very clean. The text itself stands out as it shows light font on a dark which is not very common. If I was to use this style on my website then it would go against the pattern I already have but I can still make my text stand out.

The text talks about an interesting concept that is quite unknown. Although it does not
explicitly describe the band and its work, it could give an insight into their inspiration and style. I quite like this idea.

Blossoms-

This website features, in a style that is reminiscent of a retro computer, a band factfile with all of its individual members on a slide. I like this idea as it creates a more personal description of the artist that builds a better connection with the audience.


My about page

The inclusion of another slider will allow for each band member to have an individual spotlight, showcasing their unique personality and what they bring to the band. The photography needed for this is just a portrait of each musician.

Feedback

a)

The layout is good, slideshow on homepage looks nice. Producing realistic merchandise for the shop photo would be good. The band member feature seems unqiue and stylish. The logo and title complement each other and look affective. I could add a section for tours, explaining a tour that is over with reviews of the tour from customers instead of just putting the dates down. 

b)

Simplistic aesthetic works well yet more could be added to the site.

Feedback from Pitch

Feedback - 

• Good choice of song - suits the theme/idea of the video well
• I must focus on featuring (at least) 2 distinctively different social groups (gender roles - break or follow?)
• When filming indoors - use a wide variety of angles to maximize the small space (perhaps take practise shots at the location)
• Dark lighting will be difficult to film with (again, practise shots are important)
• Make room for original photos on website 
• The graphic album cover and the second (dark room) photographic cover are the most popular - should not be busy

Hand-drawn mock up of album cover(s)

 Sketched draft of album cover ideas

This design is a photographic design. It features our subject outside a house. The title of the song is imposed on the wall behind him. There is a sad face also graphically imposed over the top.

 This is a graphic solution. It features the artist's (fictional) iconic colour combo and logo.

This is a photographic idea. It includes our subject in a dimly lit room under a weak spotight.

Hand-drawn mock up of website

Website homepage sketched draft

Features:

• An attractive title and logo heading
• Links to all pages
• An automatically sliding picture showcasing different pages within the site
• New releases (includes my embedded music video)
• A place to sign up for the news of the artist
• Social media panel to contact and follow the band

Pitch

Lyrics

Moodboard

Initial Ideas Brainstorm

Research into the record company

SONY

Sony Music Entertainment (SME) is a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony Corporation. SME is the second largest of the "Big Three" record companies, behind Universal Music Group and ahead of Warner Music Group. It also owns 50% of SYCO Entertainment, which operates some of the world's most successful reality TV formats, including Got Talent and The X Factor.

In March 2010, Sony Corp partnered with The Michael Jackson Company in a contract of more than $250 million, the largest deal in recorded music history.

Some signed artists: (those who have produced music I am likely to use in my project)

• The Vaccines
• Tyler, The Creator
• Sundara Karma
• The Shins
• Miguel
• Declan McKenna
• LSD
• Kings of Leon
• Samm Henshaw
• Foster The People
• Daft Punk
• Cage The Elephant
• Au/Ra

Research into the target audience

My Target Audience

  

The kind of audience interested in the track I am creating is a fun-loving 16-25 year old mass market demographic with no specific social/economic status. This target audience would also include those who are interested in a range of hobbies such as sports, art and fashion. Fashion is important as famous celebrities in the pop industry set a lot of trends surrounding fashion. The target audience must also spend a lot of time with social media and other mainstream media platforms as the genre is frequently seen and promoted with these. Although it is aimed towards several age groups, the primary group is teenagers who are no too likely to have a full time job.

                                         
Analysis:

The answers I have recieved mostly reflect what I have researched about my audience. All but one anomaly fit the age bracket of 16-25. Also, the vast majority of responses support the idea of pop audiences being fun-loving with interesting hobbies. A sub-genre that came up a lot was indie-pop and I am pleased that the people enjoy this as I think I will do best with a track of this style. I feel as though the data gathered is reliable as most people stated that they enjoyed listening to the pop genre and did so relatively often.

What I have learned

I now have some ideas about what the audience would enjoy and expect from a pop music video. I shall refer back to this when planning.

Inspiration/Directors

Khamkwan Duangmanee

(Rats Records)

 

 

 

 

Some music videos include:

Phum Viphurit - Hello, Anxiety

Phum Viphurit - Lover Boy

Duangmanee always creates fun, creative music videos that are very entertaining to watch. Sometimes they model some kind of storyline, sometimes they do not (this shows how well she can adapt to different formats of video). One technique that tends to appear in her music videos is the use of paradoxical features such as breaking the fourth wall such as going "behind the scenes" during a music video (this can be seen in both music videos listed above). In particular, this allows the audience to feel as though they are inside the project, revealing the pure simplicity and joyousness of the creation of these videos (the affect that I would like to be able to create with my video). Also, it can show the down-to-earth characteristics of the artists she films with.

In addition, Duangmanee often uses pleasing colour schemes and lighting that make each frame vibrant and engaging to look at at; such as a short sequence in the "Lover Boy" video where a choice of light, pale colours and bright (almost strobe) lighting construct an outstanding image that suits the track very well. The setting and costume always seem to complement each other and match the soundtrack very well. The set always allows for the unique visual (graphic) effects that the director likes to include so that they do not look out of place.

Her music videos are never packed with hidden meanings and symbolisation/imagery but they never fail to create an infectious feeling of euphoria. Also, her style perfectly visualises the music she films for.

 

 

 

777 Records

Influential artists to me such as Boy Pablo, Monsune and Tyler, the Creator have all worked with 777 Records; most noteably Boy Pablo, who is signed to 777 and has produced several inspirational music videos for the label. The band's work is very recognisable as, not only do their videos always contain their distinct iconography, but it follows a unique style where it appears to be purposefully low-budget and attractively amateurish. This is largely as a result of the modest, ordinary background of the company, and they like to remain low-key whenever they make a new music video. This is the type of aesthetic that I would like to create when I produce my own. This should come naturally anyway given that I do not have the resources to make a state-of-the-art, professional video. 

What I have learned?

I have found it useful gathering what I like about my inspirational figures in this industry and thinking about how I can put all of it together into my very own project that reflects all of the individual styles that have influenced me.