Music Video Influences

The Maccabees - Latchmere



 Use of still images to create fast paced movement

We used a still camera to capture several images, of both the band members and pizza. These photos were taken with a a slightly different movement each time to give the effect of a fast paced image when all the photos were put together. This was a long and slow process, as we had to ensure that the camera was in the same place when taking each photo in order to make sure that each image was captured at the same angle and distance to create the right effect for our video. In order to do this, we used a tripod to keep the camera still and in the same place throughout capturing the images. When editing these photos together, it was important to make sure that all the images had the same colour effects, brightness and contrast. As well as this, we had to be very percise on the timing of each photo, so that they all appear for the same amount of time, to give that fast paced effect of movement. Our inspiration for this particular video effect came from a number of exisitng music videos, in particular from a video for the song 'Latchmere' by The Maccabees. This video uses only still images edited together at a fast pace to create an illusion of movement within the video; an editing technique which we thought would look effective within our own video, as it fits into the same genre of music and so would also appeal to our target audience.

Arctic Monkeys - Teddy Picker



Opening clips are of band setting up their equipment

The opening few clips for our music video were influenced by the video 'Teddy Picker' which shows the band setting up their equipment. We thought this would look effective in our own video as it introduces the band to the audience within the first opening seconds and helps the audience identify with the music genre. This footage also includes audio from when they were setting up so the audience can hear the amp being plugged in and the band talking. This was used so that the video shows some personality of the band, and makes the atmosphere of the video seem more professional.


Images of instruments being played

Many of our shot types were also influenced by the video 'Teddy Picker', as in this video it shows a lot of close ups of the band playing the drums, guitar, bass and close ups of the lead vocalist. This is a technique used to show the skills of the band, which effectively promotes them to their audience. We have used many close ups of the instruments, in particular we have focused on close ups of the drums being played, as the the sound of drums being played is very predominant within the song itself, so we have tried to show as many clips of them in sync with the music. With this in mind, we have overlapped many images of the drums with footage of the lead vocalist or long shots of the band, which creates a 'trippy' effect which we are very pleased with. We have also edited the clips to show the drums being played in slow motion which looks very effective within our video. The close ups of the bass and the guitar being played in the video 'Teddy Picker' inspired us to use similar shots within our own video, as it shows the strings being played in time with the music, which highlights our editing skills of being able to sync footage with the music.



The Drums - Money



Long shot of band

After watching the video 'Money' by The Drums, we decided that we would also incorporate many long shots of the band playing together. This is the show the audience of the band's relationship and to show how the band perform. We were able to cut close ups of the instruments being played with the long shots of the band playing together, which allowed us to put a range of shots together to make our video more interesting and engaging for our audience. These particular shots were also similar to the images used for our digipak, which was intentional, as it means shows the link between the two, therefore helping the audience relate one product to the other, making them identify with the band.

Close up of singer

Close ups of the lead vocalist were featured predominately within the video 'Money', which we thought helped show facial expressions and shows the song in sync with the video. This was a technique which we used a lot within our video, using high angles and low angles of the singer to show him lip synching to the song. For many of these close ups we did not use the tripod to keep the camera steady, as we wanted to capture the footage with that free hand held effect, which allowed to maneuver the camera quickly and easily to capture the shot at a range of different angles.  


Band hanging out outside house

Using shots of the band hanging out outside of the studio was an important aspect to our video. Although we did not have a particular narrative to video, we did however use a range of different footage to show some of the band members outside of them playing music. We used this to show the relationship between the band members, and to give a fun aspect to the video, cutting between footage of them in and outside the house, to footage of them in the studio.

Editing techniques

Editing techniques

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Editing process

Editing process

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Changes To Initial Ideas

Changes we made

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Photoshoot

 

 These are some photos we took when filming our music
which we will use for the images when creating our      
digipak. They have been edited to incorporate them into
the 'indie' style genre of music which they represent

Filming Difficulties

We filmed our video in two main locations, a house and a professional studio. Our first location was the student house, where we had to ensure that we had all of the necessary equipment and props, such as guitars, drumsticks etc. We also made sure that the set for filming looked suitable for the video, which meant we had to clear the room in which we were filming in, by removing any objects in the room which were not part of the video, such as dvds that were lying around etc. We also set up the room with things such as pizza boxes on the table and posters on the wall to make the room look like it was lived in by the band, which would appeal to our audience. This was however, a time consuming task, which meant that we had less time to film that planned.

Whilst filming, we came across many areas that challenged our filming process, which meant that we had to adjust certain things which we had planned prior to filming. Aspects such as lighting effected many shots and angles we wanted to carry out. Whilst filming in the studio we hired out, we realised it was very dull and dark and lacked natural lighting, which meant we had to work with what we had so turned on as much artificial lighting as possible to make it suitable to film in.  This was inititally a problem but when editing the footage, we will be able to edit the brightness and contrast of the clips in order to overcome this problem. We also noticed that whilst filming outside the lighting was considerably lighter than previous filming in different locations, such as the studio and inside the house. In order to overcome this problem we will edit the lighting and colours in the video, which will make the footage look effective.

As well as the lighting, some angles we wished to carry out were difficult to capture, such as high angles and birds eye view angles. To get the footage we wanted, despite being at awkward angles, we discovered many techniques to overcome this such as using the tripod and holding it above the things what we wanted to shoot. This meant that there was often high risks on location, as equipment was often at risk of falling, or one of us falling whilst shooting. Fortunatley, we did not encounter these issues and were able to capture a variety of shot types and angles.

Prior to filming, we had created a storyboard which we used throughout to ensure we captured suitable and effective footage for the production of our video. However, when we began filming we became aware that it was not possible to shoot all the of initially intended shots, as we were unable to get some of the props we had orignally planned to use within the video, such as a smoke machine. As well as this, the large amount of chots we had planned meant that we were also limited for time. This was particularly restricted within the studio, as we had only hired it out for a few hours, meaning the filming process had to be done quickly but without missing out any important footage. As well as being limited for time in the studio, we had also a time limit when shooting in the house location, as we had to capture all of our footage before it was time to go to the studio, and had to take photos on set, which didn't leave us with a grea deal of time to film.

Another issue which caused delays in filming, was that the actors for our video were not all available at the same time, as the vocalist for the band was unable to be on set at the house location in time. To over come this problem, we began filming with only two members of the band, however it did not cause a problem when editing, as we were able to use a lot of the studio footage to compensate for one of the band members not being at one particular location.

Some of the ways we asked the band to act (using facial expressions, props, etc) within the video did not turn out to suit the genre as well as initially thought but with some consideration and slight changes we managed to make it fit and we worked round this by, re-filming certain parts to make it fit. Within the research of the video we were inspired by several bands/artists, which made it hard to collaborate all these ideas into one for it to still, make sense, through discussion and trial and error the final piece seemed to go well together and suit the storyline and genre.

Overall, the filming process was indeed a challenge with regards to time limit and lighting in particular, however we think that we have gathered a good variety of different shots in order to create an effective music video.

Setting up music equipment in the studio

Sorting out props for house location, such as posters, pizza on the table,etc

Audience Research

Our audience reseach has allowed us to identify the main elements which our target audience would expect to see in an indie music video. Many of the comments suggested that many stereotypical features of our chosen genre are things such as sepia colour effects to give that old style atmosphere to the video. As well as this, images of the band are often heavily featured, with band members playing instruments such as drums and guitars. The clothing of the band seems to be a key aspect in existing media products, with clothing such as skinny jeans and tight tops being mentioned several times within our research. Arctic Monkeys appear to be a well known popular band within our target audience, with the majority of the sample for our audience research giving the band a score of 7/10. This is a good start to our project, as it means many of our target audience will be familiar with the band and their music and so will easily identify with our music video.