BLK feedback

Good work Nick, all up to date with some pleasing variety developing on this blog!

BLK feedback

Excellent research and analysis posts so far Nick, such a great start to your background work for this project.

We need to get you using/applying advanced theory more explicitly when you analyse music videos this term, think Vernallis for now, although you will also need to get to grips with Goodwin in the new term.

You are just missing one area of work from last term, get this up to date asap and then you can crack on with the project!

For now, your short term targets are:
1. Post the work you have done for Miss T on Vernallis. See the main Music Video Blog for the specific details of what is needed here

All instructions are on the main blog if you are not sure what you should have done. There will be a lot happening when term starts so the sooner this outstanding work is completed, the better.

To move ahead with your project, you could start working with the rest of the group on your proposed track treatment, and get ready to pitch as soon as possible.

Great effort so far, keep up the good work and see you soon!

Reflections on the Teenage Dirtbag video shoot

1. What do you think you learnt from Friday's workshop?
Friday's workshop was a very eye opening experience into the world of shooting and directing a music video. Although preferably I'd have liked to be behind the camera working on the technical team it was a very good experience to be involved in the acting and performance. The biggest thing for me was working with Jake Wynne. Watching him direct was very interesting and made me think very hard about the role of the director and also the role of the performer in relation with the director. There has to be a connection between the two and almost an onset chemistry for them to understand what they want to achieve and how to go about creating this in music video form. Jake worked closely with every actor getting very involved in every shot and this approach made him enjoyable to work with but let you know exactly what he wanted you to do, and how to do this.
The second point for me was about the camera work. I learnt a lot watching the Camera crew work especially about their role on the shoot and their position of power in comparison to the director. Although the director is ultimately in charge, he works closely with the camera crew to find the most appropriate and creative way of doing a shot. The two main features of camerawork I observed were the use of manual focus and tracks, both of which made me think about the use of motion in video and how important it is to adding interest to what can look a quite dull performance.
This leads on nicely to my last point of interest, the performance itself. I learnt about how tiring a performance shoot is, and how important it is to keep optimistic and energetic at all times, to help the director achieve the best possible video outcome. It is important to know your character well and to know the song back to front, as if you don't, your performance will look dreadful! I think we managed to pull off some great performance shots by working well as a group and these skills I will carry across to our main project.

2. For you, what was the best bit?
My favourite part of the day by far was the band shots as they were really fun to take part in. Once you'd gotten over the inital embarrassment of being infront of a camera singing Wheatus, you could really let yourself go and enjoy yourself. Working with the rest of the band was really fun as we managed to put on a great ensemble performance, really bouncing off eachothers mannerisms and ideas, and working with Jake inbetween shots to pull off even more convincing imitations of the Wheatus band members. It was brilliant being able to adopt a different identity for the day and try and imagine yourself as them. Also, playing with Simon dancing round a pair of bongos, shaking an apple and a banana was a truely hilarious experience and definitely one I will never forget. Music and media are my passions and it was wonderful to get to combine the two in a way that will really benefit me throughout the duration of the course.

3. How do you think the work we have done will impact on your group project?
This workshop will greatly change the way I think about approaching my group project. For a start I now know to completely plan out every single shot and test how to shoot it in advance to save time on the day. I know better how to work as an ensemble and listen to the director, following their instructions precisely. I have learnt how important it is to really be on the ball and not mess about seeing as a shoot can take a very long time, and the more tired you are, the less convincing a performance you will be able to give. For me especially with the possibility of being the vocalist in our group project the workshop was especially helpful as it has taught me a lot about lip syncing and the role of the lead vocalist as an icon, something for the audience to focus on throughout the video. I know we need to give the band an identity and an image and make sure that carries on throughout the video.
On the technical side I'm definitely more willing to try more complicated shot types and using the manual settings on the camera to change the depth of field. I think movement of the camera is a must have to make the video interesting and will make sure to incorporate this into my ideas.

"The Wombats - Let's Dance To Joy Division" music video treatment

The first thing that springs to mind is aided by the first line "I'm back in Liverpool." As this song is mainly about dancing and being happy I wanted a mainly performance based video and the sense of "return" from the first line gave me a good idea. The band met when they went to college together at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. What better place for the performance to be set than there seeing as the song is about going back to Liverpool. Although most people watching the video would not realise the significance of this, it would be a nice bit of trivia that would mean something to the band and their original fans, helping to magnify the whole going back to their roots theme.

My video would follow a simple narrative;
A couple fight and break up and the guy becomes upset and depressed, but as he walks through liverpool he is guided toward the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and there he finds the Wombats playing and joins in dancing with them on the stage to an empty room. The idea of this is not that everything is brilliant and spectacular but rather that although he is still relatively "alone" he has found his cure for a broken heart, which is to dance and forget his problems.

The guy will be shown in black and white to show his sadness and depression, but throughout the video as he gets closer to the venue and to dancing he will gain colour to represent his happiness returning to him. When he gets to the venue it will be before the second chorus with the line about telling the DJ what to play at which point he will hand the DJ his iPod which will be playing Joy Division (shown with a close up on the track title and album art on the screen). Little things like this will be done just to make sure that the story completely ties in with the theme of the lyrics.

Another idea I had was that when it's talking about the cure for a broken heart, we can see an out of focus image of what looks like his ex-girlfriend at the door to the venue, but when he looks there it goes into focus and it's someone like the band's manager instead, showing how he still thinks about her, but is getting over it and moving on.

Throughout this narrative we will also have the band practicing and performing in the venue, using lots of close ups and mid shots to show what they are playing making sure the band are a main focus of the video (as it is a video to advertise them as icons rather than just the song).

The band will be wearing typical indie clothing;
Skinny jeans, tight v-neck t-shirts. jackets, trilby hats, scarves, ties etc in quite dull colours and each with one randomly clashing colourful item of clothing to represent the happy joyful feel of the song in contrast to the ironic depressing theme of the lyrics.

This is my rough treatment of my pitch for the video.

"The Wombats - Let's Dance To Joy Division" song interpretation

We are looking at this Wombats song to come up with a treatment for a music video. The lyrics have many deep and hidden meaning to look at and interpret which could lead to obvious choices in mise-en-scene, location, costume etc, in the video itself.

I'm back in Liverpool,
And everything seems the same,
But I worked something out last night,
That changed this little boys brain,
A small piece of advice,
That took twenty-two years in the make,
And I will break it for you now,
Please learn from my mistakes,

From this verse we see that the character has returned (as far as we can tell) home to Liverpool after being away and has decided that everything seems just how he left it. However the line "that changed this little boys brain" suggest the transition from boy to man, the character having grown on their travels and become a more mature and wiser person. The line "that took 22 years in the make" suggests its an epiphany he has been searching for all his life. The end of the verse "And I will break it for you now, please learn from my mistakes" hints to us that the chorus of the song will be passing on this advice to us. So overall this verse sums up the theme of the song quite distinctly and simply, showing a journey of personal growth and learning a new revelation which he wants to share with us.

Let's dance to joy division,
And celebrate the irony,
Everything is going wrong,
But we're so happy,
Let's dance to joy division,
And raise our glass to the ceiling,
'Cos this could all go so wrong,
But we're so happy,
Yeah we're so happy.

The chorus of the song is not only lyrically ironic but musically ironic (irony being a main theme in the song). The music is jolly and happy while he's talking about the irony of "dancing to joy division". Joy Division were a late 70s band who's lead vocalist Ian Curtis committed suicide. He suffered from depression and would often have fits on stage. This shows the irony of the Wombats song. The line "but we're so happy" refers to the fact they're all dancing to depressing and sad music and forgetting their problems ('cos this could all go so wrong). The singer is not suggesting that life is brilliant or perfect, but rather that you should be happy and get on with life as it's the only solution to the sadness that life regrettably brings.

So if you're ever feeling down,
Grab your purse and take a taxi,
To the darker side of town,
That's where we'll be,
And we will wait for you and lead you through the dancefloor,
Up to the DJ booth,
You know what to ask for,
You know what to ask for.

This verse is simply an expansion of the themes already put into place, that sadness can be overcome by being happy and dancing your troubles away. There is no more hidden meanings other than the slight reference back to Joy Division with "Up to the DJ booth, you know what to ask for," saying that if they want to rid themselves of their sadness that they should ask the DJ to put on Joy Division to dance to.

The second chorus has one difference in which the first line states "Go ask for Joy Division," rather than "let's dance" so that it carries on the narrative from the verse and links the song together.

So let the love tear us apart,
I've found the cure for a broken heart,

This is the first time in the song we hear about the singers own personal problem that he has had to overcome. It becomes obvious that this is a love song in disguise, talking about how the best way to get over a girl is to dance it off and stay happy because life will carry on regardless, which I see as the general theme of the song.

We can see from looking deeper into the lyrics that the song is not actually particularly joyful which is ironic due to the upbeat lively feel of the music. The song instead chooses to portray an important life lesson in the form of a happy sounding song, with quite deep and meaningful lyrics.