Below is my attempt at writing a music video treatment for my coursework, I have chosen to use the software PowToon to make my treatment more interactive. I hope you enjoy.
Research: 60 second pitch for music video
Script: "Hello, today I'm here to pitch my idea for a music video for Fenech-Solers new single 'Magnetic'. After analysing the songs lyrics, I found out that the song is about the main characters ambition to travel the world however can't because he's in some sort of plateau. My idea is for the video to match the meaning of the lyrics, I will do this by creating a short story which follows the main characters desire to travel, he will change locations through various different camera techniques, however when he finally arrives at his destination, he wakes up to find out that acheiving his ambition was just a dream. I have chosen this idea because I believe it would be reasonably straight forward to film because the locations I have chosen to film in are available and also I would only need 1 actor, this gives me the flexibility to film when me and the actor choose to.
Independent Research: Fenech-Soler's new album 'Rituals' has been released
Listen to the full album below..
Independent Research: Looking back at Fenech-Soler's previous music videos!
To get an idea of what sort of visuals may fit Fenech-Soler's type of music I spent some time looking back at some of their previous music videos, below I will give my opinion on some of them...
The music video itself doesn't hold a story and has no connection to the lyrics at all, the video in a nutshell is full of vibrant colours which makes the video stand out, the band are playing their song and whilst the song becomes more upbeat, the more colours come into shot. If I was to choose one thing to implant into my music video from this video is the use of colours, they attract the viewer and make the music video more upbeat.
This video is very quirky and I honestly haven't got a clue what is actually happening, I can see that a trend is beginning to form that the band like to create music videos which don't actually have any meaning to them apart from showing that they like to experiment and have fun whilst creating them. Apart from that I like the speed the camera changes when the song quickens, it gives the music video a sense of something important might happen which makes the viewer watch.
The music video itself doesn't hold a story and has no connection to the lyrics at all, the video in a nutshell is full of vibrant colours which makes the video stand out, the band are playing their song and whilst the song becomes more upbeat, the more colours come into shot. If I was to choose one thing to implant into my music video from this video is the use of colours, they attract the viewer and make the music video more upbeat.
This video is very quirky and I honestly haven't got a clue what is actually happening, I can see that a trend is beginning to form that the band like to create music videos which don't actually have any meaning to them apart from showing that they like to experiment and have fun whilst creating them. Apart from that I like the speed the camera changes when the song quickens, it gives the music video a sense of something important might happen which makes the viewer watch.
Independent Research: FENECH-SOLER release album tracklist for new album!
The tracklist for Fenech-Soler's new album 'RITUALS' has been released 4 days prior to the album release, their upcoming album is the album I have chosen to use for my A2 music video, the track I have chosen from Rituals is 'Magnetic', below is the tracklist which has been leaked online:
1. Youth
2. All I Know
3. In Our Blood
4. Ritual I
5. Last Forever
6. Somebody
7. Fading
8. Magnetic
9. Maiyu
10.Two Cities
11.Ritual II
12 Glow
13. Somebody (White Version)
14. Two Cities (White Version)
15. Last Forever (Live at Electric Ballroom)
16. All I Know (Live Electric Ballroom)
1. Youth
3. In Our Blood
4. Ritual I
5. Last Forever
6. Somebody
7. Fading
8. Magnetic
9. Maiyu
10.Two Cities
11.Ritual II
12 Glow
13. Somebody (White Version)
14. Two Cities (White Version)
15. Last Forever (Live at Electric Ballroom)
16. All I Know (Live Electric Ballroom)
Research: Chosen Song Lyrics Analysis - FENECH-SOLER//MAGNETIC
We're standing on a fault line
Caught in-between two minds
Exhale this city filling up our lungs
Let the light dust settle
This person is describing how he is trapped between a decision which is making his relationship with somebody 'faulty' also the line 'exhale this city filling up our lungs' gives me the image that he is looking at some city landscape, exhaling the view he's seeing.
When we're through with this place
The past will be erased
Counting down the hours
Synchronize 'til we take control
The person speaking I believe is now speaking to somebody directly, the line 'The past will be erased, Counting down the hours' makes me believe the person is talking directly to a girl and he is trying to pusuade her to forgot something,
It's a feeling
In the great unknown we can burn it out
Cause I needed
To show you
There's a world outside that we've never seen
Can you feel it too?
Can you feel it too?
In a world where nothing feels real
Can you feel me too?
Woah woah
The previous lines about how there is a city mentioned and how the person is counting down the hours sort of makes sense after reading the chorus, he basically wants to take this girl somewhere breathtaking and wants her to understand the 'meaning of life'.
I'm pulling hours out from under our armor
Follow the river down to the sea
Rising up gonna come back stronger
We keep on running through these empty streets
The person who i can now distinguish as a man, is describing again what he is seeing, however the river may be a metaphor for something else, I don't really know what but a guess could be that the river could be symbolising his emotions being let free into the 'sea'.
It's a feeling
In the great unknown we can burn it out
Cause I needed
To show you
There's a world outside that we've never seen
Can you feel it too?
In a world where nothing feels real
Can you feel me too?
Woah woah
(as previous)
When the night's magnetic, we'll run
When the night's magnetic, they'll come
When the night's magnetic, we'll run
When the night's magnetic, they'll run
When the night's magnetic, they'll run
When the night's magnetic, we'll run
The use of repetition and the use of the words 'run' repeated makes me think of the man and women running away, this is also backed up by the way it says 'we'll run' and they'll come' meaning people might be looking for them.
Can you feel it too?
Can you feel it too?
In a world where nothing feels real
Can you feel me too?
Woah woah
Overall i believe that the lyrics symbolise a relationship gone wrong between the narrator (man) and a girl, the man wants to show the girl what she's missing out on by taking her to see breathtaking views and just in general taking in 'life', something goes wrong in the end as by the second from last paragraph the use of repetition suggest that the pair are running away and running away from someone, the last paragraph sums up their journey and how the world 'doesn't look real anymore' suggesting there relationship could be over.
Research: Chosen Bands Website & Twitter Feed
OFFICIAL FENECH-SOLER TWITTER FEED
Their twitter feed will keep me updated with any band information which could become necessary for my coursework in the future..
Tweets by @FENECHSOLER
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
http://www.fenechsoler.co.uk/
Their twitter feed will keep me updated with any band information which could become necessary for my coursework in the future..
Tweets by @FENECHSOLER
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
http://www.fenechsoler.co.uk/
Research: Soundcloud for Fenech-Soler
I have implemented my chosen bands Soundcloud account onto my blog so it makes it easier to access some of the music which will help me when I start to evaluate the lyrics of the songs etc.
Audience Research: Demographics and Psychographics
Demographics:
Demographics is the statistical data relating to the population and particular groups which are involved within the population. Things such as age, race, gender, nationality, income and schooling all relate to being demographic information. An example would be the band 'One Direction' having an audience age of around 10-20 years old and the audience would be mostly all girls.
Psychographics:
Psychographics isn't at all like demographic, instead of statistical numbers, Psychographics is the study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations and other psychological information to do with the audience. An example of psychographic information would be how and why a typical audience buy a certain album, this information would then help the band create new idea's to promote their album.
Demographics is the statistical data relating to the population and particular groups which are involved within the population. Things such as age, race, gender, nationality, income and schooling all relate to being demographic information. An example would be the band 'One Direction' having an audience age of around 10-20 years old and the audience would be mostly all girls.
Psychographics:
Research: In-depth analysis of 'Coffee & TV' by Blur
Name of artist: Blur
Title of song: Coffee & tv
Released: 28th June 1998
Producer: William Orbit
Genre: Indie-Rock
Relationship between visuals and lyrics?
I believe that the visuals illustrate a story about a boy which has dissapeared and the worried parents have no way have finding the boy, however an animated milk carton comes to life, and with a advertisement label with the boys face on, goes on search for the boy and also to find romance. The lyrics do match the visuals as the visuals talk about the stress the boy has been put through and give hints to why he might of run away, for example
"I've seen so much, I'm goin' blind
And i'm braindead virtually
sociability
It's hard enough for me
Take me away from the big bad world"
The lyrics match the visuals as both the lyrics and the animated milk carton are following the same adventure, the milk is a representation of the missing boy and wants to find romance and get away from his home.
Relationship between the visuals and the speed of the music:
The song as a whole is a quite upbeat sounding song, however there are some parts of the song which almost fall to a silence, the visuals match the slowing down of the music video because as it start to slow down, an event would happen in the visuals, for example at the end of the song when the music starts to slow down, the visuals show the milk carton getting drank and getting threw out, I believe the producer has done this because we relate slow, quiet music with being depressed or sad so when an event such as the milk cartons death occurs, the music would slow down because of it wants to represent the feelings shown in the music video and also by the viewer.
The importance of the artist in the visuals?
The producer of the music video chosen to add a clip of Blur playing towards the end of the music to help represent them as individuals and so that the audience understand how many members are in the group and what they look like etc, also it could be the other way round, for example if the audience was watching the music video and didn't know who it was by although they knew who Blur were, allowing the audience see the band at the end of the music video allows them to understand that this music video was by Blur.
Use of Voyeurism?
There is no use of Voyeurism in this music video, presumably because the main character is a milk carton!
Any use of intertextuality?
I believe that the music video could be influenced by some sort of animation back in 1998, as the rise of animation on real life started to become much more popular in the late 90's, the producer may of chosen to use the animation to grab out to this growing population of animation to attract more interest.
What is the mixture between performance and narrative?
The music video is almost a whole narrative using visuals and the lyrics which builds a solid storyline which builds the story for the viewer to follow, the use of the performance by the band only lasts for around 20-30 seconds so it is a small minority compared to the narrative side of the video.
Title of song: Coffee & tv
Released: 28th June 1998
Producer: William Orbit
Genre: Indie-Rock
Relationship between visuals and lyrics?
I believe that the visuals illustrate a story about a boy which has dissapeared and the worried parents have no way have finding the boy, however an animated milk carton comes to life, and with a advertisement label with the boys face on, goes on search for the boy and also to find romance. The lyrics do match the visuals as the visuals talk about the stress the boy has been put through and give hints to why he might of run away, for example
"I've seen so much, I'm goin' blind
And i'm braindead virtually
sociability
It's hard enough for me
Take me away from the big bad world"
The lyrics match the visuals as both the lyrics and the animated milk carton are following the same adventure, the milk is a representation of the missing boy and wants to find romance and get away from his home.
Relationship between the visuals and the speed of the music:
The song as a whole is a quite upbeat sounding song, however there are some parts of the song which almost fall to a silence, the visuals match the slowing down of the music video because as it start to slow down, an event would happen in the visuals, for example at the end of the song when the music starts to slow down, the visuals show the milk carton getting drank and getting threw out, I believe the producer has done this because we relate slow, quiet music with being depressed or sad so when an event such as the milk cartons death occurs, the music would slow down because of it wants to represent the feelings shown in the music video and also by the viewer.
The importance of the artist in the visuals?
The producer of the music video chosen to add a clip of Blur playing towards the end of the music to help represent them as individuals and so that the audience understand how many members are in the group and what they look like etc, also it could be the other way round, for example if the audience was watching the music video and didn't know who it was by although they knew who Blur were, allowing the audience see the band at the end of the music video allows them to understand that this music video was by Blur.
Use of Voyeurism?
There is no use of Voyeurism in this music video, presumably because the main character is a milk carton!
Any use of intertextuality?
I believe that the music video could be influenced by some sort of animation back in 1998, as the rise of animation on real life started to become much more popular in the late 90's, the producer may of chosen to use the animation to grab out to this growing population of animation to attract more interest.
What is the mixture between performance and narrative?
The music video is almost a whole narrative using visuals and the lyrics which builds a solid storyline which builds the story for the viewer to follow, the use of the performance by the band only lasts for around 20-30 seconds so it is a small minority compared to the narrative side of the video.
Research: Andrew Goodwin's 6 Features of Music Videos
Andrew Goodwin released a book called 'Dancing In The Distractions Factory' which features a theory suggesting which features and characteristics that can be found in music videos:
These are:
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
(e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).
EXTENSION: MY VIEW ON DANCING IN THE DISTRACTION FACTORY
Reading parts of Andrew Goodwin's book 'Dancing In The Distraction Factory' has helped me realise the different stages of what makes a music video. Although some music video's do not follow the attributes created by Goodwin, most of the music video's I have watched do involve most of the 6 rules which apparently make a music video. I believe that those 6 rules really do help make a music video a music video and not a short film, a short film obviously follows a plot and a script however a music video uses lyrics, empathetic sound and a storyline to make an interesting video and also so it can match the music side of the video.
I will now go through the 6 rules and analyse each of them and give some of my own personal examples...
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
(e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
The reason I believe that most music video's follow certain characteristics is because they want to attract an audience from that particular genre, for example if a band were making a music video for their rock-genre song, they would use such characteristics like blood, gore and just general crazy doings to show the audience what type of genre the band is and hopefully the audience would become interested.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
Some music video's make sure that their lyrics are represented with images and actions, however other's don't. I believe that directors make sure that the visuals link in the lyrics so that the audience will be able to understand the lyrics more clearly, for example if there wasn't visuals to match the lyrics then some of the audience may not follow the lyrics as properly. Other directors choose not to link their visuals with the lyrics because they want to tell another story to try and reach out to the audience and make them interested in watching the music video.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
Directors choose to make the visuals reflect the mood and atmosphere within the lyrics as it helps makes the music video link in with the lyrics well and the final product would look good. if the visuals didn't reflect the atmosphere of the lyrics, for example if the lyrics were quite depressing and the visuals were upbeat, then it wouldn't look good at all, however if the lyrics were depressing and the visuals were also telling a depressing story then it would make much more sense to the audience.
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
The use of close-ups and frequent shots of the artist help the audience understand who is the artist and what they look like, it also helps develop motifs within the artist, for example if in the music video the artist was wearing some sort of stand-out items of clothing the directors may choose to keep showing the artist to help build up a motive of the artist wearing out-going clothing which can be used in other music video's which can help with stuff such as popularity and sales in that piece of clothing etc.
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
Directors in their work always look for ways to make their piece of work stand out to different people, the use of Voyeurism is a very common way of gaining more interest from a male perspective, for example if in the music video there were women who were acting in a seducing fashion then men would want to watch it, therefore gaining more interest in the music video and the artist.
6. There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).
Directors would try and link their music video's into other media references such as tv programmes or other music video's to try and spark more interest in their music video, for example if a music video linked their visuals with a popular tv show then the music video would gain interest from anyone who was interested in that particular tv show.
These are:
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.(e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).
EXTENSION: MY VIEW ON DANCING IN THE DISTRACTION FACTORY
Reading parts of Andrew Goodwin's book 'Dancing In The Distraction Factory' has helped me realise the different stages of what makes a music video. Although some music video's do not follow the attributes created by Goodwin, most of the music video's I have watched do involve most of the 6 rules which apparently make a music video. I believe that those 6 rules really do help make a music video a music video and not a short film, a short film obviously follows a plot and a script however a music video uses lyrics, empathetic sound and a storyline to make an interesting video and also so it can match the music side of the video.
I will now go through the 6 rules and analyse each of them and give some of my own personal examples...
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
(e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
The reason I believe that most music video's follow certain characteristics is because they want to attract an audience from that particular genre, for example if a band were making a music video for their rock-genre song, they would use such characteristics like blood, gore and just general crazy doings to show the audience what type of genre the band is and hopefully the audience would become interested.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
Some music video's make sure that their lyrics are represented with images and actions, however other's don't. I believe that directors make sure that the visuals link in the lyrics so that the audience will be able to understand the lyrics more clearly, for example if there wasn't visuals to match the lyrics then some of the audience may not follow the lyrics as properly. Other directors choose not to link their visuals with the lyrics because they want to tell another story to try and reach out to the audience and make them interested in watching the music video.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
Directors choose to make the visuals reflect the mood and atmosphere within the lyrics as it helps makes the music video link in with the lyrics well and the final product would look good. if the visuals didn't reflect the atmosphere of the lyrics, for example if the lyrics were quite depressing and the visuals were upbeat, then it wouldn't look good at all, however if the lyrics were depressing and the visuals were also telling a depressing story then it would make much more sense to the audience.
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
The use of close-ups and frequent shots of the artist help the audience understand who is the artist and what they look like, it also helps develop motifs within the artist, for example if in the music video the artist was wearing some sort of stand-out items of clothing the directors may choose to keep showing the artist to help build up a motive of the artist wearing out-going clothing which can be used in other music video's which can help with stuff such as popularity and sales in that piece of clothing etc.
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
Directors in their work always look for ways to make their piece of work stand out to different people, the use of Voyeurism is a very common way of gaining more interest from a male perspective, for example if in the music video there were women who were acting in a seducing fashion then men would want to watch it, therefore gaining more interest in the music video and the artist.
6. There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).
Directors would try and link their music video's into other media references such as tv programmes or other music video's to try and spark more interest in their music video, for example if a music video linked their visuals with a popular tv show then the music video would gain interest from anyone who was interested in that particular tv show.
Research: Collection of some of my favourite music videos
What makes a good music video for me?
Something which tells a story, it's pointless to see just a bunch of people dancing etc, a good music video should consist of a good plot, something which people can relate to and also matches the mood of the song.
Example #1
Artist name = Blur
Song name = Coffee & TV
One of my favourite music video's purely for the fact it's a living milk carton!
Example #2
Artist name = Miike Snow
Song name = The Wave
Basically the music video is a sequal to Miike Snow's previous music video, I think it's quite smart how all of his recent music video's link up and tell a story about this weird man call Jean Noel, the video is basically about a murder which happened in texas in 1980 and how the whole city came together and sang for the children murdered.
Example #3
Artists name = The Shoes
Song name = Time to dance
Something which tells a story, it's pointless to see just a bunch of people dancing etc, a good music video should consist of a good plot, something which people can relate to and also matches the mood of the song.
Example #1
Artist name = Blur
Song name = Coffee & TV
One of my favourite music video's purely for the fact it's a living milk carton!
Example #2
Artist name = Miike Snow
Song name = The Wave
Basically the music video is a sequal to Miike Snow's previous music video, I think it's quite smart how all of his recent music video's link up and tell a story about this weird man call Jean Noel, the video is basically about a murder which happened in texas in 1980 and how the whole city came together and sang for the children murdered.
Example #3
Artists name = The Shoes
Song name = Time to dance
Research: Dave Grohl speech about his interests in music
Dave Grohl, most famous from his part in both word famous bands Foo Fighters and Nirvana, gives his story about how music influenced his life and the types of music which have grew on him over his life.
Research: Me as a consumer of music
How do I listen to music?
Usually when I listen to music I use the internet to be able to stream free and good quality music, I use sites such as Youtube and Soundcloud which are some of the best sites to listen to music. Not only do I use the internet I usually listen to the radio when in the car or eating my breakfast, the radio gives me a huge variety of music I can listen to.
Do I buy my music or..?
When I was younger I downloaded my music through Itunes or I would even go to stores such as HMV to buy albums of such, now though I had decided to use illegal downloading to receive my favourite music for free, I use sites such as The Pirate Bay to find torrents which allow me to download the music.
What type of music do I listen to?
I believe I have a wide variety of different genres of music I like, most recently I have been listening to a lot of indie music such as 'White Lies' and 'Friendly Fires' I like this music because it is quite relaxing compared to the other music I listen to. The other types of genres I listen to would be Drum and Bass and Dubstep, I like the beat of the music and most of them have a positive vibe about them, I also mostly blame my brother for getting me into this type of music.
What type of music do I hate?
Anything to do with Pop or R&B. Both of them are just mainly american rubbish which tries to attract the target audience of little kids because they are most prone to being attracted to new genres of music. This type of music is also very cringy and I would make sure that if pop or r&b come on the radio, I would instantly turn it off.
Usually when I listen to music I use the internet to be able to stream free and good quality music, I use sites such as Youtube and Soundcloud which are some of the best sites to listen to music. Not only do I use the internet I usually listen to the radio when in the car or eating my breakfast, the radio gives me a huge variety of music I can listen to.
Do I buy my music or..?
When I was younger I downloaded my music through Itunes or I would even go to stores such as HMV to buy albums of such, now though I had decided to use illegal downloading to receive my favourite music for free, I use sites such as The Pirate Bay to find torrents which allow me to download the music.
What type of music do I listen to?I believe I have a wide variety of different genres of music I like, most recently I have been listening to a lot of indie music such as 'White Lies' and 'Friendly Fires' I like this music because it is quite relaxing compared to the other music I listen to. The other types of genres I listen to would be Drum and Bass and Dubstep, I like the beat of the music and most of them have a positive vibe about them, I also mostly blame my brother for getting me into this type of music.
Anything to do with Pop or R&B. Both of them are just mainly american rubbish which tries to attract the target audience of little kids because they are most prone to being attracted to new genres of music. This type of music is also very cringy and I would make sure that if pop or r&b come on the radio, I would instantly turn it off.
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