Moderator post

Dear Moderator,

My name is Brandon Poonwasie (0660). I am in Group 3, along with Juliette Wileman (0875) Chrystal LI (0470) and Audrey King Lassman (0397).

If you'd like to view any of my A2 work, just click the labels on the right that include A2 in them, i.e. A2 Research and Planning and A2 Prelim.

Thank you,
Brandon

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Wednesday 17 September 2014

Semiotic analysis

Pegasus Bridge - 'Ribena'



  • In my opinion, this video is about a group of friends who escape detention and are running through the school trying to escape from their head-teacher, because of the beginning exchange of 'I can have you here for the rest of your natural born life' and the response of 'Do you really think I give a sh-'.
  • While that's my literal interpretation of the video alone, with the lyrics, I'd say that the video is about growing up and changing; 'I drink coffee, not just Ribena, and I like it, I like it' suggesting that they are still the same person but just grown/growing up now to like different things, no longer a child.
  • The video has quite a simple structure, following them through the school as they run away, while cutting between the performance and a few shots of the teacher.
    The performance consists of several different shots, each ones of different band members, but the majority include some camera movement, with the majority being circling of the band member. There are CUs of the band playing the instruments, and the framing jumps between CU to LS and back quite a lot. The editing is based around the lyrics and the music, cutting to shots of the lead singer when there are lyrics being sung, and then sometimes will cut based on the music, but during the narrative it often cuts when the action changes in the frame.
  • The adult in the video is portrayed as quite oppressive, the use of close framing at the start, the use of low angle shots and also his costume. The close framing at the start shows him pointing at the band member and leering slightly, gradually getting closer to the camera, connoting his cruel character and his power in the relationship. The suit jacket and shirt (while practical for a teacher) also helps to connote this, the grey suit lacking colour, being very dull and business-like. This links to the lyrics, as they are addressing someone who doesn't understand that the band are growing up/moving on, so it would make sense to represent this through the oppression of the teacher and the teens being in detention (connotes their rebelliousness)
    MCU during the beginning (gradually moves closer to become a CU)

    Walking down the stairs smiling - obviously enjoys having power over the teenagers. Adjusts shirt cuffs smugly.
  • The teens in the video are portrayed as quite fun and rebellious. This is done through the dialogue at the beginning and also through references to 'The Breakfast Club'. In the film, it's about a group of troubled teens put in detention (and there are two girls and three boys, which is why one of the males is dressed in a skirt and wig), some of whom are neglected by their parents and have therefore grown up and changed, but are still scolded by adults for being the way they are. The fun is represented by the colour and bright lighting during the performance, as well as the shots of them all running through the building and re-enacting the Breakfast Club dance during the bridge. The lyrics also show this growth/rebelliousness, 'when the conversation dried, I'd end up kissing, kissing, kissing you' indicating the growing of the child into an adult and experiencing these things, but also as a memory of the past, saying that 'that's archaeology', meaning that it is no longer what they want and people should learn to accept that. 
    The bright lighting and bright colours used make the scene seem very happy and calm
    Fight breaking out between two of the males - teenage rebelliousness
  • In interviews after their first tour, the lead singer described how some of the band were unhappy with the way the lifestyle were leading, especially after the stick they received after their first breakthrough single 'Yoko', so this song could also reflect what they wanted to say to the people criticising them, telling them that they are not little boys, and that people need to respect that they have changed. 

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Initial research, influences and ideas: Influential artist/bands

30 Seconds to Mars:

30 Seconds to Mars are very inspiring to me because Jared Leto often directs a lot of the videos, or helps to, and the concepts are often quite odd, as with 'Up in the air', 'The Kill' and 'From Yesterday'.

I like the way they are styled and their energy on stage. Jared Leto has also shown that he can act as well, in 'Dallas Buyers' Club', a film that demonstrated the effect of homophobia and also the profit-driven approach to finding a cure to HIV/AIDS in the 1980s.

Their songs usually tackle quite big topics, or act as inspiration, i.e. 'Do or Die' is about living life no matter what, while the video also goes through interviews of how much 30STM have helped people's lives. I admire this approach to their fans, attempting to interact with as many as possible and creating music that helps people in some way. The continuous creation of this type of music, meeting the needs of relationship or identity, allow 30STM to maintain their current fan-base as well as gain more fans who will also build a relationship with the band's music.
A response to one of their fans on twitter


You Me At Six

You Me At Six would be an influence on the performance aspects of my video, because they use a lot of body movement during their performances, the lead singer using the stage a lot, while the guitarists and drummers move around stage less but use more vigorous body movements while playing their instruments.

YMAS playing live


Initial research, influences and ideas: Influential styles

I like the use of close-ups on the singers and instruments during Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Edgar Wright, along with the use of camera movement to get progressively closer to the character.

I also like this in 'That's What You Get' by Paramore:


Also, I like the uses of focus in these, as they focus on the foreground, while the background is blurred, drawing attention to specific details of lip-synchs, facial expressions or instruments being played. 

Focus is also used in 5 Seconds of Summer's 'She's so Perfect', and the lighting is also something I like with this video as it is supposed to be natural lighting and is slightly hazy, which is quite a happy, relaxed setting that I would like to recreate for some of my ideas.


Marc Webb
Marc Webb is the director of The Amazing Spider-Man and 500 Days of Summer, as well as the 'I'm Not Okay' music video for My Chemical Romance. I quite like the way he uses a mixture of fast-paced editing and long shot durations in both 'I'm Not Okay' and 'Bank Dance' (a video to promote 500 Days of Summer). 
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi622264857?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1
(Link to 'Bank Dance')



Other than these, there are no styles, periods or movements that I can think of that would influence my music video.

Initial research, influences and ideas: Suitable tracks for the single/Genres

Genres of interest:
My ideal genre would be indie-pop/rock, as there is often a lot to work with lyrically and the indie genre would be the easiest to recreate with zero budget. It would also give us scope for both narrative and energetic performance, as in 'Ribena' by Pegasus Bridge (see influential videos).

Genres I would prefer not to work on would be rap, heavy metal and dance, as it would be more difficult for me to brainstorm around these genres as I know less about them.

Suitable Singles for the track:


While we're young - Pegasus Bridge
I decided that 'While we're young' would be a good song to do a music video for because of the indie-pop/rock genre, and also the song lyrics. Also, the song progressively builds throughout, and has the potential for both narrative and performance sequences.
The song lyrics talk about worrying about regretting life decisions, and is relatable to both young and older audiences, so it'd be good for targeting a wide audience.



Camisado - Panic! At The Disco
I think this would be a good single to choose as well, for similar reasons to the Pegasus Bridge song above. This song is quite heavy at points, which could make a very interesting performance bed, and we could also do something quite creative with the camera movement for narrative, with very chaotic movement in frame as well. The only trouble with this is that from the song lyrics I have drawn out that it is about a dying patient (perhaps cancer) so linking the narrative directly could be slightly difficult, so we may have to create our own concept for it.

Initial research, influences and ideas: Influential album covers and websites

Below are the four websites that I chose as my influences, because of several reasons, which I will list under each one:
5SOS website
I chose this as one of my influences because I quite liked the purple and grey colour scheme, as well as the simple navigation bar at the top. I also liked their site because it originally takes you to a landing page advertising their new album, which I thought could be a good idea for our website.
I liked the boxy layout, and also the countdown timer to the next gig, as it allows fans to be in the loop about where the band are. There is also a game called 'Hungry 5SOS' which is quite fun for the audience, and increases their interaction and satisfaction with the site. The linking of social media in the top right is also something I would use, and is present in all of my other site influences.


Killers Website
I liked the Killers website for the simple black background and the white/blue text, and the site isn't 'busy' with too many things going on, it is very calm and structured, not cluttered. I also liked the banner image at the top of the page under the navigation bar, as well as the simplicity of the font.


My Chemical Romance Website
What I mainly like about about the MCR page is the newsfeed immediately accessible to fans, and also the landing page it brings you to for their greatest hits album. The site seems quite minimalist, with a black and white colour scheme and a blocky font that is associated with MCR. Personally, I think the web page is too small on the page, and would prefer mine to use more of the space, but I like the page layout with the navigation bar at the side, although I am more likely to use a top navigation bar.


Panic! at the disco website
As with the Killers website, I like the banner used at the top of the page, promoting 'Girls/Girls/Boys' and displaying both the video and the iTunes link to download it. The website also seems to be in a news-feed structure, so fans can follow what the band is doing very easily. Again, the social networks are all linked to the front page, with the tumblr link in the top right corner as well, so it is very easy for fans to become connected via social networks and for the band to increase their marketing reach. 



ALBUM COVERS:

I quite like this album cover for City Stereo's 'Dance like you mean it' album, because it is very simple while still recognisable of genre and band. The font and red and blue explosion in the background easily identify the band as an indie-pop band, with the block font but bright colours indicating a pop element too. The bright colours of the burst in the background also makes the album very eye-catching while not too intrusive or over the top, and the text in the black boxes underneath the band name is also something that connotes the genre well, similar to 5SOS.

This album cover is for Daughter's 'If you leave'. I like this cover because of the simplicity which connotes their indie-folk genre well, the use of the forest setting and faded translucent torso connoting the calm and tranquillity of their music. The sans-serif font also adds to the simplicity of the album cover. The central positioning of the text is good because it makes the band's name and the album name the focus of the cover, so fans would be able to recognise the album easily, as the text is similar in font and style (with the dots either side) to the one on their website (see below)


This album cover is good because it is immediately noticeable who the artist is without having to read the text, as we can see Justin Timberlake on the cover. The name 'Justified' also gives it that pop-genre feel alongside the font used (the extended J and T also highlighting his initials), the block, blue font standing out against the background so that it can be clearly seen. The direct address by JT is also good as it could potentially make the fans feel as though he is looking at them, while the leather jacket and the sunset shot make him seem very cool and add to the attraction of the audience to JT.  


Initial research, influences and ideas: Influential/Inspirational music videos

This is Gospel by Panic! At The Disco, directed by Daniel Cloud Campos

I like this video in particular because of it's chaotic camera movement, and fast-paced editing during the chorus, and it's change to being much slower-paced during the verse in terms of editing and movement within the frame, but chaotic camera movement is maintained throughout. 

The main reason I like the use of camera movement in this video is because it is used to highlight specific things such as the hands being place over his mouth, him being tied to the chair and the crossing of his arms over his chest before they put him in the coffin. 

The video is 100% narrative (with concept aspects as well, coming from the lack of realism and the way the video is edited and camera movement is used), so it's not entirely what I would want to do, but I would like to use some sort of camera movement or editing style similar to this.


Ribena by Pegasus Bridge, directed by David Ellison

This is one of my biggest influences. I especially like this video because of the quick introduction to set the scene; the teacher scolding one of the bandmates, and the band-mate saying 'do you really think I give a sh-' to be cut off by the music and a shot of them running in the halls, creating humour from the cut off of speech and also establishing the school setting and them running away from detention. This video is also a combination of performance and narrative, which is similar to what I wish to do, and I quite like the use of shot types at the beginning, the close ups of the keyboard and guitar, as well as the camera movement as it circles the band members.
Close up of drummer's foot at start of video

I also like the inter-textual reference to the breakfast club, when they do the dance across the bench mimicking that of the film, as it creates humour (as does the one wearing the wig and skirt) and is also identifiable and something that the audience can relate to. 








  
Camera circling the guitarist




The voyeurism created for the audience in the narrative is also something that I enjoy in this video. Through the use of camera positioning (we are in the middle of the action, and in one shot we are behind the characters watching as one gets pushed to the floor), this voyeuristic sense is created and immerses the audience into the narrative of the music video, despite the discontinuous editing removing a lot of continuity aspects.



Weightless by All Time Low, directed by Matt Stawski

I have chosen this as one of my influences mainly due to the band performance, the use of titles, and the camera movement. 

In this video, the band is very active on stage, and the lighting for the set is very bright, with the outfits being very typical of the indie-pop/rock genre. This is similar to one of my ideas for the band performance if I chose a song from this genre, as I want the band to be quite active during the performance. It is also similar in the way that I want my video to have both narrative and performance elements, both of which are present in this video, and there is slightly more narrative than performance, which is also what I would do. 

The use of titles in the video create quite a lot of humour, while the large text and font-style link to the band's album and general image. The colour scheme is quite bright and eye-catching, and link to the neon blue lighting of the stage, so it works aesthetically. The text included is also quite humorous, such as the one shown below, which would be good to build the band's identity as not caring too much what people think, which is an attitude an audience will expect from a lot of indie-rock bands.

Monday 15 September 2014

Initial research, influences and ideas: Audience

As audience research, I created a survey to see how people consume their music. This allowed me to see trends in age, genre, and how music is consumed, so make a more informed decision of who I'd be targeting if I selected a particular band/genre for my music video.

From my research, I found out that among the younger ages (15 to 25), the indie, pop, rock and alternative genres are the most popular, while the older (26-59) often said that they liked all genres, apart from either heavy metal or classical. 






An example of one of the older audience members surveyed, listing Motown and Country among their favourites (though still included pop music)
Something I also noticed from this research was that all of them acquired music via some form of streaming and download (mainly iTunes), so the technological element of iTunes downloads is used through all ages and can therefore be marketed to everyone. It also showed me that younger people seem to be more likely to download music illegally than other demographics.

From my research, I also found out that the main online music service the audience is aware of is YouTube, then iTunes second, so releasing the music video on YouTube and linking it to both the website and the iTunes download would be beneficial, as people are aware of these two services the most.
Ipsos research into what music services the audience are aware of


Wednesday 10 September 2014

Initial research, influences and ideas: Record labels

What is a record label?
A record label is a company/institution responsible for the marketing and distribution of music recordings and music videos. They are often also responsible as a publishing company that manage bands or artists, co-ordinating everything from production to copyright enforcement. They search for new talent using scouts, and some are dedicated to training up new artists.

In the music industry, there are three media conglomerates that dominate the market with their record labels, accounting for 70% of the world music market:

Universal - Universal Music Group



Sony - Sony Music Entertainment


Warner Bros - Warner Music Group


This is because these record labels own other smaller, subsidiary record labels, which deal with a variety of genres, and can therefore have a wide reach and large potential audience. It takes advantage of the horizontal and vertical integration within these conglomerates to reach the largest audience possible, ensuring a higher chance of popularity.

An example is Sony's ownership of Epic Records (through Columbia Records), who, originally associated with jazz, had expanded to include all genres by the late 1960s. Now Epic Records have artists such as Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, Nicole Scherzinger and previously Michael Jackson, with their greatest achievement coming from 'Thriller' in 1982, selling 51 to 65 million worldwide sales. They also have artists such as Ozzy Osbourne and Lamb of God, showing their genre-variety.







INDEPENDENT LABELS

Megaforce Records:
Genres: Heavy metal, thrash metal, punk rock, alternative rock
Location: New York City
Artists: Metallica, Anthrax, The Del-Lords (Most of their artists are relatively unknown or old)


LAB Records:
Genres: Various
Location: Manchester, England
Artists: The Summer Set, The LaFontaines, previously Pegasus Bridge (The label has a reputation for developing UK talent)

Domino Recording Company:
Genre: Indie Rock/Indie Pop
Location: London
Artists: Arctic Monkeys, Lou Barlow (Mostly unknown artists)


UNSIGNED ARTISTS
Artists can also be unsigned, and still successful. An example of this is Radiohead, who have a distribution deal with TBD records but are not signed to the label. Their most recent album, 'The King Of Limbs' was released in 2011, reaching number 7 in the UK album chart. 

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Initial Research, Influences and Ideas: Music Trends

From the table below (source: BPI), we can see that Pop is still dominating the market in terms of single sales, having a 36.2% share of the total sales in 2013, 14.8% higher than rock, the second popular genre.
However, it must be said that Dance is increasing in popularity, it's share of 16.1% being it's highest since 2006. 




Comparatively, we can see that in terms of both streaming and album sales, Rock is more popular than Pop, with 33.8% of album sales in 2013 and 34.4% of streams.

From this research, we can see that Rock and Pop have consistently been the most popular in recent years, but Dance has been increasing in popularity, so this genre could also be a possibility to choose.

Initial research, influences and ideas: Gaps in the market

Currently, there are many male/boy bands in circulation, with bands like 5 Seconds of Summer, One Direction, Alt J, Maroon 5 and The 1975. (See below the album chart as of the 8th September 2014)



While there is a saturation of male bands, there are also a lot of female solo artists, Kate Bush, Iggy Azalea, Ellie Goulding, Ariana Grande, Beyonce, and Nicki Minaj to list a few. Female solo artists seem to be dominating the market in comparison to solo males, but despite this, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran still maintain two out of the top three spots on the UK Top 40, so this shows that solo male artists are still popular.



There is a lack of female bands, with Haim being an up and coming girl band, and GRL having a new single in the Top 40, so there is a potential gap in the market to be targeted here. 


Genre-wise, there also seems to be a gap for indie-bands, similar in style to how My Chemical Romance and Panic!at the disco were in their early years, breaking into the mainstream, as there are relatively few 'indie' bands or artists in the mainstream market, meaning that a potential breakthrough is possible by targeting the mainstream audience with the promotion of a single through their music video. There would be even more of a gap if the band was all girls, as the current popular ones are usually either completely male or mixed, apart from Haim, a girl-band who broke through with their hit 'I Could Change Your Mind'. However, as mixed and all-male are more popular, it could be safer to go for those so to stick to what appeals to the audience right now.

Sunday 7 September 2014

Initial Research, Influences and Ideas: My Music Consumption

HOW DO I CONSUME MUSIC?

I usually consume music via my computer (using YouTube or Spotify) or my phone (having downloaded the tracks). Occasionally I will watch music videos on TV, which introduce me to new artists, i.e. MTV Breakthroughs introduced me to Two Door Cinema Club, and I went on to digitally (legally) download their albums.


When I'm consuming music, I am usually alone, travelling on a bus or train, walking, cycling, or am at home doing homework, with the music on in the background. I also hear music in public areas like pubs and restaurants. There is also usually music at friends' parties, which we all enjoy dancing to.

There are a wide range of reasons why I listen to music, for example to create a particular mood (useful when for story-writing pieces in English), but the two main reasons I enjoy listening to music is for the escapism and companionship it provides me with. When I'm listening to music, it provides me time to day-dream, to imagine scenarios that could be used as music videos for the songs, to distract me from the mundane-nature of tasks like travelling and make it more exciting. When I'm alone in my room, the melody can help to motivate me and encourage me to get my work done, and also make the room feel less empty.

There are two things a song needs to have for me to like it: A good melody, and good lyrics. If it has one or the other, I'll probably listen to it but not buy it, but if it has both I fall in love with the artist and begin fan-girling over them.
A SONG FROM MY CHILDHOOD



Elvis Presley is embedded in many memories of my childhood, because I grew up listening to him. It brings back memories of sitting in the car with my dad and blaring out the words, and also of jigging around the office with my family, so whenever I hear the melody begin, it immediately makes me want to start dancing to it. My main music influences as a kid were my Mum and Dad, who usually played music that was from the 60's to the 80's, both from Europe/America, and from the West Indies (Soca, Parang, and other cultural genres). The West Indian music was mainly for festivals and parties, so the majority of the music I listened to was English or American.

A SONG FROM MY EARLY TEENS



My Chemical Romance and the indie-rock genre dominated my early teens. They were the first artists of the rock genre who I'd been introduced to properly, listening to most of their albums after I was prompted to listen to this song by my band-mates. During my early teens, my friends and the internet were large players in influencing my music taste, as it became a social thing, listening to certain music and doing certain things in school would get you into one group, so I chose to slightly change music habits to stay with my friendship group, and I grew to quite like the genre. I also identified with the songs lyrics, as it is that typical teenage angst period, where everything just happens at once and you drown under it all. My Chemical Romance's songs helped me to identify with others in my situation, and also helped to cheer me up a bit. Ironically, to this day, 'I'm Not Okay' never fails to make me feel okay.

A SONG FROM TODAY



This is definitely the hardest one. Throughout the years, there have been a ton of songs that mean so much to me, but I've chosen Pegasus Bridge - While we're young, because this is especially relatable and has been one of my favourite songs since I was in my early teens (after discovering MCR and MUSE). The lyrics talk about getting old and kind of regretting what they might not have done, which is something that I'm constantly thinking about, as we're of the age where we have to make so many life choices that will have such a huge impact on our futures.

I discovered this song through YouTube after seeing Pegasus Bridge - Ribena on MTV. Nowadays, my parents have practically no influence in my music consumption, and my friends have a minimal amount, sometimes recommending artists/tracks. The main ways through which I discover music are films and YouTube/Spotify, i.e. the Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack, which I looked up and found the Spotify playlist for (created by Hollywood Records), which allows me to look the songs up on YouTube when I can't access Spotify for it.

I tend to just listen to whatever I like now, rather than listening to or avoiding certain artists to fit in. It takes too much effort, may as well just enjoy the music. I still use music socially, i.e. as a conversation starter or fan-girling with friends, but it has nowhere near as much influence as it did back in my early teens.