Editing- Lip Synching

The lip synching, in my opinion is one of the hardest parts in the process of making a music video, as it needs to be perfect. After uploading the footage from our tape, we had to place each clip onto the timeline with each clip in a new layer. As we did not capture each section of lip synching in a whole take, this makes the process of matching the scenes to the song, very difficult.

We'd estimate where the lip synching started and try to place it in the correct part of the timeline. We would have to watch the attempt on screen, before deciding whether the lip-synching was before or after the lyrics of the song. Sometimes we were lucky and managed to get the lip synching correct, first time.

Even though the process is tedious, each clip only took a few minutes. We would then look at each layer and check/uncheck the visibility of it according to whether we needed to view it or not. This method allowed us to cut sections of the take out, and move them to different layers.

Editing - Use of fast paced editing.

Even though our song is slow lyrically, we have decided to use some fast paced editing in the sections where the texture of the song begins to build up. The harsher chords played on the piano and guitar create a need for more dramatic action and editing. 

As the video is supposed to come across as a girl singing remembering being with her boyfriend, the fast paced flashbacks and editing will add to the emotion of the song.

Filming- Problems when filming,

We as a group have come to the conclusion that the plan that we have for filming is to unrealistic when it comes to the equipment and time that we have.
We have decided to change our style of video completely, and go for a video that is a lot easier for us to film and edit better.
We have decided that instead of having a story line behind the music, we are going to have random shots of the couple together, that dont have to necessarily make sense.

Planning - Further planning.

Due to other commitments, we still have a lot of filming left to do.
Such as :

-Close ups of lip synching.
-Landscape shots.
-Mid shots of lip synching.
-Shots of the couple together.
-Shots of the death of the boyfriend and
-Contextual shots.

Animatic.

 Here is the animatic for the video that we are aiming to create. Although the music does not directly match the shots we wish to use, it gives us a rough and basic idea of what and how we are going to film.

Filming Day No. 2.

As it is so cold outside, we decided that we wanted to film the 'suicide' scene of our video, inside. Yesterday, we went to a friends house, and tried and tested many different shots of the suicide to see how we wanted the scene to look. Eventually we decided on the shots that we are going to use.

The suicide consisted of an overdose, in which we used props of a vodka bottle (with water inside) and pills (that were actually tic tacs).
We didn't have a particular dress code, so the girl we filmed just wore casual, every day clothes.

We also took a close up of the girl crying, and rubbing her makeup down her face, which (like the rest of the video, will be reversed).

We also had shots of her sitting in a corner crying, and an over the shoulder shot of her looking at a photo of her boyfriend. When all put together, it will become clear that the girl is depressed due to the death of her boyfriend, and eventually results in suicide.

Filming- Weather problems.

Due to problems with the weather, we have had to change some of our original plans for the video. One of the main parts of the video was going to be a girl jumping into a lake, however, due to the fact that it is around 8 degrees outside, having somebody jump into a lake is a rather dangerous idea.

We also had to change plans due to the fact that the people we are using in our video have work at different times of the day, we had to change our video to suit them.

Research and planning -Mood Board

Here is a mood board, that i created using the website , glogster.com. This website gives us the opportunity to paste pictures and texts easily. The mood board i created represents the events and emotions that will take place in our video.

Further developed ideas.

Since our last meeting, our group has come up some more ideas for our video.

• We have decided that to add drama to the video, at the beginning of the song, one of our shots is going to be a girl jumping form a lake. This point will be in reverse, so when filming, the girl will have to jump into the lake, and when it comes to editing, we will reverse it. 
• We have also decided that we want ALL of the video to be filmed outside, rather than some inside and some outside. 
• We have decided that no specifically fancy costumes will be used in the video, as the story is supposed to look like a general love story/tragedy, the people will be dressed in normal, casual, everyday clothes, that we will try to keep simple, so that not much attraction is brought to them. 
• We also decided that at some point in the video, we would like to have a close up shot of the girl crying, but will also reverse that, so that the tears are going upwards instead of down. 

Information about copyright.

If something is copyrighted, it gives the creator or producer of the object or idea, exclusive rights to its production and sale. Its gives the owner 'rights to copy' and makes sure the owner is credited for their work. It also restricts other companies or people taking and using the copyrighted idea and earning money from it.

This realised this is important when creating our music video, as if we break any copyrighted rules, we could be persecuted. This is one of the main reasons we have to ask for permission for the songs we use.

Planning our filming : The weather.

Due to the fact that we have to film outside, the weather is an important factor when it comes to filming and making the film look good.

As we wanted to film some more this week, we decided to take a look at BBC weather to see what days offered the best weather for us to film.

We have decided that we are going to film on thursday, friday and saturday as they are the best days.

Although we know these websites aren't completely reliable, they give us a basic idea on what is best for us.

Shooting Schedule : Day 1

Day 1 :

Shots: Shots of forest, nature and some lip synching.

Location: Hainult Forest

Equipment: Camera, Tripod, Mini Speakers.

Costumes: Katy (Lip Syncher), wearing simple casual clothing.

Props: None for any of these shots.

Cast and Crew: Katy (Lip Syncher),
                         Conor Wilkins (Cinematography and mise-en-scene)
                         Tori Wheatley (Cinematography and Sound)

Treatment

Group Roles

Cinematography: Conor Wilkins and Tori Wheatley.
Mise-En-Scene: Tori Wheatley
Sound: Tori Wheatley.
Editing: Conor Wilkins.

Title: Gabrielle Aplin- Home.

Synopsis: A love story between two characters, as the boyfriend films the girl.

Key Genre Conventions: 

Dramatic editing to the beat,
Slow motion movements,
Black and white shots,
Shots of nature,
A romantic storyline that matches the lyrics,

Target Audience Survey

This is one of the surveys we created to assess our 'Target Audience'. This information is key for us when coming up with ideas for the video, digipak and magazine adverts. We created this survey on www.surveymonkey.com as this website allowed us to create the survey for free and allowed friends and family to access it easily.

Bands or Artists Similar to Ours.

Birdy, is an artist very similar to Gabrielle Aplin. She is a signed artist, with two albums out, who uses music videos similar to Gabrielle Aplin, along with music that is also similar to Gabrielle Aplin. This will be one of the videos that we use to base our video on.

Analysis Of A Magazine Advert

Most magazine covers all contain very similar features that are visible in the example i have used. 

• They all contain the name of the magazine that is recurring on every magazine that company produce. 
• They also usually specialize their magazine cover on a particular celebrity, meaning the cover usually consists of a photo of them. 
• The cover also usually contains information about what the magazine is going to be about. 
• A barcode is usually always on either the packaging of the advert, the front page of the advert or the back of the advert. 

Audience Research: Facebook.

After discussing our target audience further, the issue of gender was brought up. As our artist is a woman, singing a reasonably slow, feminine song, it may deter males from wanting to watch our video.  During our research, many of the males stated that the song was too 'girly', and they believed that it was mainly directed towards a female audience, so we went to survey more male friends, using websites such as Facebook.

Here is what we believe as one of the best responses from the research that my group did. In this screenshot, we are shown that romantic story lines and and young, female artists do not always appeal to men, meaning, it is going to be difficult for us to direct our video towards both the male and female audience.

T.A.R : Focus Group No 1- Music Videos Part 2.

After researching with a varied selection of people we decided to illustrate the results that we see are most significant when it comes to our own personal music video. A few of the questions that we asked are 'What type of music videos do you like?', 'Why do you like them?'









The general response from people that we asked was originality. We discovered that a lot of people prefer seeing a music video that is not similar to anything else, or perhaps is something that they have never seen before. For example, one person stated that Justin Bieber -Beauty And A Beat is an exceptional video as it comes across that he is filming a lot of the video himself, and this has never been done before.

T.A.R: Focus Group No.1 - Vox Pops on Music Videos.

What is a Vox Pop?

A vox pop is a short one sided clip of a random member of the public who voices their opinion on a particular subject. For example, if a new television show was to be released, but the director wanted to know what made the public laugh, he would take opinions from the public and a Vox Pop is how they would show this opinion. Ourparticular Vox Pop was about peoples favourite music videos, and why they are so good.

Along with teaching us about what a Vox Pop is, making the Vox Pop , also helped us get more practice when editing videos.

Through the audience research that we did, we found that the videos are often made soul-ly in mind for one particular target audience, and that it would be difficult to try to make a video that appeals to everybody.

Possible Locations.

We are planning to film a lot of our video outside, so that we can use the benefits of nature to represent the song. Here are some shots of our local forest, a location that we are considering using :

We think that this last picture is a particularly  interesting place to film, and plan on filming a lot of our video here. 

Product Placement.

A lot of directors, of not only music video's but also of full feature length films use product placement. This is when a certain labelled product is subtly displayed/advertised in a clip. The maker/company that produce the product pay the film company to include their product in the film, causing subliminal advertisement, making the audience want to buy these products.

Examples of music videos that contain product placement are :

Both of these pictures are taken from the same music video, (Telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyonce) and are only a few examples of the many types of product placement in the video. Product placement also helps to fund peoples costumes and huge factors of the video, which then helps the director when it comes to making a high quality video with a low budget.

How we would expand/broaden our audience and increase sales.

For many artists and directors, it is very difficult to attract new kinds of audiences and to increase sales. However, there are many ways for them to do this, and if we were trying to do this too, we would use many different forms of advertisement and production skills. 

• One of the main things we'd use is Youtube. As an artist or director, Youtube is a critical website when it comes to getting your work seen, and the more songs and videos you have, the more they get seen. This is a way of attracting many different types of people and also gets lots more people to see it, opposed to MTV or music channels. 
• Another way we could attract a new audience and increase our sales is by creating a video that either 'suits' many different types of people, or that doesn't suit a particular person at all, and is suitable for everybody to watch. 
• We could also publicise the video or song by creating advertisements for billboards and magazines, leaflets and posters. This would increase our sales as more people would be aware of the video.
• We could also use channels such as MTV that appeal to a wide audience. This would increase our audience and would publicise the song. 

Detailed research into artist.

After lots of research into Gabrielle Aplin, we realised that she is a reasonably low-profile artist.

Apart from having her own website, there is not much information on the internet about her. The website tells details of the labels that have signed her, her current tour of europe, her new releases and albums on sale, and any videos or personal information about her.

She also has her own youtube channel, that releases all of her own new music and videos.

Preliminary Exercise - What we have learned.

What we did:

-First we found a place that we felt suitable to film. We tried to make sure that we used a place where the wind or weather would not affect us.
-We then filmed both of the characters singing the duet.
-Then we filmed the characters singing the song individually.
-After attaining all the footage we had, we began editing.
-However, we had to re-film some shots, as they did not look as good as we expected them too.
-While editing we used the toggle clip overlay tool to arrange the clips we had in the right order.

What we learned:


Throughout our preliminary exercise, we learned many valuable lessons that will come in handy when making our music video.
1) We learnt that learning a song with short notice and attempting to lip synch it in time with the music is very difficult.
2) We also learnt that editing the video in time with the music is extremely difficult.
3) We learnt that the weather has a huge impact on the effect of the video, as if we shoot the video on 2 separate days and one of the days is raining, whereas the other day is sunny, the video does not match up and looks bad.
4) We also learnt that taking the video seriously is a huge factor when filming. If the people starring in the video are laughing and joking around, it looks bad and unprofessional.
5) We also learned to take into consideration what is happening in the background of the video. When we were filming our preliminary, somebody else was filming their preliminary in the background and it looked unprofessional, confusing and immature.

Rough Outline Of Our Initial Ideas.

After many long sessions of getting together and brainstorming our ideas, we have finally come to a conclusion about how we want our video to look.


As our song choice is extremely slow moving, calm and is about love, we decided not to go for an upbeat type of music video, and instead put a love story behind it and make it slow paced and reasonably simple. We found that making an upbeat music video in winter, without the benefits of things such as sunshine, it would be hard to match the mood of the song we were going to use. So we decided that we will make a simple love story.
Here are some of our brainstormed ideas for our video :

• Having black and white shots that add to the emotional factor of the video. 
• Having a strong story line that suits the song and accompanies the lip syncher. 
• To match the song, the storyline will be about love and tragedy. 
• Editing to parts of the beat that will emphasise the emotion in the song. 
• Contrasting settings that exaggerate certain points of the song. 
• Taking ideas we have seen from other music videos such as Coldplay-The Scientist and changing them to make them our own. 

                                                           

Initial research into artists target audience.

Gabrielle Aplin started off as a youtube-r, covering songs buy the band You Me At Six. This hints towards the fact that she'd like to target the same type of 'indie' audience that You Me At Six attract. You Me At Six also attract a reasonably young audience, usually between the ages of 13-19, and Gabrielle Aplin, as a young artist is able to do this successfully.

Preliminary task

Here is our preliminary task that we did a few weeks ago. We worked in a reasonably large group, so decided to have some fun with the video.

The task of the video was to edit to the beat, and to create a good lip synching effect. The video took us about 25 minutes, but i think we did it succesfully.

Our chosen song lyrics.

I’m a phoenix in the water
A fish that’s learnt to fly
And i’ve always been a daughter
But feathers are meant for the sky
So I’m wishing, wishing further
For the excitement to arrive
It’s just I’d rather be causing the chaos
Than laying at the sharp end of this knife

With every small disaster
I’ll let the waters still
Take me away to some place real
'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone
where you go when you’re alone
Is where you go to rest your bones
It’s not just where you lay your head
It's not just where you make your bed
As long as we’re together, does it matter where we go?
Home
Home

So when I’m ready to be bolder,
And my cuts have healed with time
Comfort will rest on my shoulder
And I’ll bury my future behind
I’ll always keep you with me
You’ll be always on my mind
But there’s a shining in the shadows
I’ll never know unless I try

With every small disaster
I’ll let the waters still
Take me away to some place real
'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone
Is where you go when you’re alone
Is where you go to rest your bones
It’s not just where you lay your head
It's not just where you make your bed
As long as we’re together, does it matter where we go?
Home
(repeated)

'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone
where you go when you’re alone
Is where you go to rest your bones
It’s not just where you lay your head
It's not just where you make your bed
As long as we’re together, does it matter where we go?
Home
(repeated)   

Our chosen song.

Chosen artist profile.

• The artist we chose to use was Gabrielle Aplin.
• She is an English singer/songwriter from Bath and first became recognised on Youtube over 3 years ago, when she covered a song by the American rock band, Paramore.
• As the first of two children, Gabrielle grew up listening to artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell.
• She taught herself the piano at around the age of 12, and began playing guitar at 14.
• Since the start of her career, she has covered songs by bands such as You Me At Six, Katy Perry and Ceelo Green.
• She eventually uploaded her songs to the BBC, and ended up creating her own website.
• Gabrielle's first release was her five-songed album, 'Never Fade'.

A few other music video's and songs by Gabrielle Aplin are :

Our music video song.

After a long period of searching, and numerous emails to many bands, we finally found a song that we felt was suitable to use, and that we had got permission for. We used websites such as unsigned.com but eventually went for a signed artist that started off on Youtube. See below the print screen of the confirmation email.

Using Final Cut Express.

After not using Final Cut Express for some time, we needed to refresh our minds on how it worked in advance to doing our preliminary task. We were give a song, and some clips of people dancing, and were told to edit the first 30 seconds of a music video. We were given one lesson to do this. It worked well, reminding us again of how to use the programme. The main objective of this task was to learn to edit to the beat, something we were going to have to perfect to make a full music video.

*ADD VIDEO*

Information about copyright.

When it comes to finding our music, we have had to be extrememly careful in making sure that the artist we chose was not signed, and that if they were signed, we had their permission to use their music.

If we used a signed artists music without their permission, and then posted it on Youtube, they would have permission to sue us, and it could be taken to court.

Luckily, we have found an signed artist who has given us her permission to use her song.

Famous Album Art Analysis.

What made this album art successful and why does it stand out/suit the artist?

- Overall, Birdy as an artist, has as calm, relaxing, sometimes depressing, indie feel. This is shown fairly clearly in her album artwork.

-The music is simple and easy going, and this is shown through the fact that the cover is relatively simple. She is standing on her own in an old fashioned worn out room, wearing simple, un-glamorous clothing.

-The artwork also has an old fashioned feel to it, and this is created through the use of background, as she is standing in what seems a very old fashioned, tatty room.

-The simplicity of her name, 'Birdy' in the corner of the artwork, adds to the whole simple atmosphere. The use of font is very effective, as it is clear, and to the point, exactly like the picture.

Unlike Birdy, Nicki Minaj is an outgoing, 'in your face' artist, and this is clearly shown in this album cover.

-The album is called 'Pink Friday' and to portray this, the album cover is almost completely pink, including her dress, shoes and hair.

-To show that she is an outgoing artist they have made her legs seem extremely long and plastic, and this also adds to her 'alter-ego', as she views herself as 'barbie'. They show this by making her look plastic and fake.

- A rather simple font is used to state the name and album, yet the word 'pink', is written in pink and looks as if it is handwritten.



Similarly to Nicki Minaj, LMFAO are extrememly outgoing artists that like to make an impact and cause controversy. Their songs are often about partying, getting with girls, alcohol and getting drunk, and we see this as soon as we look at this album cover.

-The fact that both their faces are squashed and confused looking gives the impression that they are drunk, and this suits most of their songs, and videos as they are often acting drunk.

-Their faces are next to a girls stomach, and this girl has a tattoo of their album name. Not only is this an interesting way of showing the album name, but it also suggests that they have that, 'live on the edge' party attitude. The font of the tattoo, is sharp looking and looks as if it has been somewhat handwritten, making them come accross as 'edgy'.

What is a Digipak and what goes on a magazine advert?

What is a Digipak? 
A digipak is the packaging and cover of an album, that contains all of the below.

Whats on a Digipak? 
-Name of an artist and album
-Track list
-Barcode
-Record company logo/information
-Disc impression and seperate disc design
-Six sides
-Spine- with name of artist album
-Image of the artist is not compulsory on the outside but a good idea to have on the inside.

What goes on a magazine advert? 
-Name of artist and album
-Date of release
-Where it is available to buy
-Record company information
-Quotes/reviews

Here is an example of a six-slide digipak.

Choosing a track.

The most important factor when making a music video, is finding the right music. Me and my group have gone through months of searching, and have finally found a song we find suitable for the ideas we have.




We believe that this song matches what we had in mind, entirely, and the lyrics also match our storyline.

Emil Nava Case Study

• Director - Emil Nava
• Began as a runner for film production companies.
• Worked for Blink productions and now freelances for OB management.
• After working as a runner, Emil Nava graduated to Assistant Director where he would manage the video shoots.
• He eventually signed to Academy - who are the biggest music video production company and then worked for Between The Eyes and now works mainly for Pulse.
• He has now begun to make adverts which generally have a far higher budget and production values but which allow for less creative freedom.
• At his busiest, Emil has made 24 music videos in one year.
• When he began shooting videos for independant labels, the budget would be as low as £5,000 - £10,000 and his most expensive video to date has been for Jessie J and the budget was £160,000.

Emils first budget was for the band, Kid British and the song was called 'Our House'.
-The budget of the video was £20,000
-It was made in Manchester.
-The cast consisted of local people.
-It took 1 day to film and 2/3 days to edit.
-It only cost Emil 10 days for pre-production and this demonstrates the very tight timescales involved in the music video industry.

OB management are a company that work as agents for directors. Their aim is to:
-nurture talent.
-work with production companies.
-work with record labels.
-match the right director to the right artist.

Some of the production companies that OB work with are:
-Pulse Films.
-Rocket.
-Agile Film.
-Friends.
and Wonda.

A few examples of Emil Nava's music videos are:

Paloma Faith - Picking up the Pieces.
Client- Sony
Cosing £25,000



Ed Sheeran-Lego House
Client- Atlantic





Jessie J - Do it like a Dude
Client-Island
Cost-£25,000

Jamie Thraves Case Study and The Process Of Creating A Music Video

Director : Jamie Thraves

• Made short films at university and used his award winning short films as a 'calling card' to get his 'foot in the door' with the video production company 'Factory Films'. 
• He began by shooting three very slow budget music videos that cost about £5000 each. 

How does it work? 

• A 'commisioner' from a record label sends a track to 5-10 directors. The directors then each submit a treatment. This stage is unpaid. The director who has submitted the 'best' treatment is then comissioned to make the video. Only then is the director paid. 
• As can be seen for many directors in the business, it is a precarious existence where their livelihood is dependant on each commision. 
• Jamie Thraves submitted treatments for his two best known videos and each was accepted. 

Examples of Jamie Thraves' work

• Radiohead - Just, £100,000 budget, was shot in 3 days. 
• Coldplay-The Scientist, £200,000 budget, shot in 3 days. 
• One of Jamie Thraives' most recent videos is by Japanese Popstars-Song for Lisa.
• Currently videos cost about £20,000, shooting time is about 2 days. 

Jamie has used music videos to get into the film business. So far he has shot 3 feature films, 

• The Low Down
• The Cry Of The Owl
• Treacle Jr. 

Looking for our music. Unsigned.com.

When looking for our music, we searched through many different websites, that offered us unsigned bands, including websites such as youtube, unsigned.com and mp3unsigned.com.

These are examples of a few of the websites we used when trying to find our music.

Editing to the beat.

After not using Final Cut Express for some time, we needed to refresh our minds on how it worked in advance to doing our preliminary task. We were given a song, and some clips of people dancing, and were told to edit the first 30 seconds of a music video. We were given one lesson to do this. It worked well, reminding us again of how to use the programme. The main objective of this task was to learn to edit to the beat, something we were going to have to perfect to make a full music video. Here is a sample of some of the work i attempted to do...

We completed this task using Final Cut Express, and had to place the music and clips of film onto the timeline and had to cut and rearrange the clips in order for them to match the music.

Key Music Video Conventions.

Here are some of the typical conventions of a music video. However, each music video is different, depending on the mood, and genre of the music.
The video tends to match the emotion used in the music, and this is shown in videos such as The Scientist by Coldplay, directed by Jamie Thraves. Overall the song is seemingly 'depressing', mentioning love and the loss of love, and Jamie Thraves portrays that emotion in the video by making the overall lighting grey, the setting as 'boring' and normal, and the overall story of the video as extremely sad and emotional.

He also takes a line of the film, 'oh lets go back to the start', and bases the whole video on that, making the whole video in reverse and many other directors also take this idea and use it.

Here are some more conventions of the genre of Pop music videos:

• Creativity
• Simplicity
• Well- known band/artist
• Good choreography
• Humour
• Originality
• Guest stars
• Attractive artist/dancers/actors
• Controversial topics
• Irony
• A strong or emotional story
• Memorability
• Fashin and trends

When studying different types of music videos, i began to notice that there are also conventional shots that most directors use. The majority of music videos are shot using mid shots, long shots and close ups of the artists face.
Directors also pay a lot of attention to the use of colour in their video and some of the best videos in the business have been shot in either black and white or have been high in contrast etc.

Establishing shots are also excessively used in many music videos, as they establish the surroundings and settings of the video and set the atmosphere of the video.

Music Video Success Criteria

There are many ways that a music video to tell if a music video is successful or not, such as :

• Whether it wins a VMA award or not. 
• Whether it is talked about or not, or features in magazines, newspapers and online.
• Whether it has a lot of hits on Youtube. 
• How many times its been shown on TV.
• The amount of publicity, whether or not that is positive or negative. 
• How many times its been downloaded.
• How many CD's its sold.

A video that i would consider to be successful is Gangnam Style by PSY. This video is 'foreign' to most countries and the lyrics make no sense to most people, however due to video and dance routine it hit number 1 in many countries, including the UK, and is one of the most successful Youtube videos, having a lot of likes and views. 

Key Music Videos -100 Greatest Music Videos.

No.55 -Fatboy Slim-Praise You



A music video that i particularly enjoy is Fatboy Slim-Praise You. The music video at the time was very new and original, costing only $800 to produce, and was shot in a shopping centre. None of the public were aware that the group of dancers taking part weren't buskers, and were choreographed dancers, taking part in a major music video and this is shown in the video when a cinema steward turns off the stereo and when people are walking past with disgusted looks on their faces.

The visuals contradict the lyrics ans all in all have no relevance to what the lyrics are or could be implying. The video is iconic in the fact that it is what would be considered a response video or a parody of an original dance routine but instead is the official video that has cleverly been done to appear in that style.

The director of the video, Spike Jonze, stars in the video under the pseudonym 'Richard Koufey' along with a fictional dance group known as the 'Torrance Community Dance Group'.

No. 50 : Paul Simon-You Can Call Me Al




This video was concieved partly by Lorne Michaels and was directed by Gary Weis wherein Chevy Chase lip-synced all of Paul Simon's vocals in an upbeat presentation, with gestures punctuating the lyrics. I particularly enjoy this video because its humorous, due to the fact that Chevy Chase is 6''4 and Paul Simon is 5''3. The fact that they contrast so much, adds to the strange lyrics and simple, strange video. I also enjoy this video due to its simplicity, and lack of special effects or dance routines. The fact that it merely has a comedian lip-syncing the lyrics, and Paul Simon looking bored and playing his instruments throughout the whole video, matches the complex yet simple song, and captures the lighthearted mood that the song creates.

No 48 : Johnny Cash- Hurt




This video was directed by Mark Romanek and was released at a tough time in Johnny Cash's life - his wife had just passed away and he had been diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease, casting him with not long left to live, and this video successfully celebrates his life, along with portraying the sadness and devastation he and everybody around him is feeling. The video contains references of religion, darkness, flashbacks of his life and the majority of the video is based on the 'House Of Cash' museum. Visuals of the direct museum and broken memorabelia are shown to correspond with the lyric 'my empire of dirt'. This acts as a reflective sentimental piece from Cash, he has lost his wife and is now losing his own personality due to his terminal illness.

No 10: Nirvana - Smells like Teen Spirit





The song, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is a song what we assume is about rebellion of teenagers, and this is successfully portrayed throughout the whole video. The vide encompasses everything it is to be a teenager, set in a school gym, the band is performing to students, and they are rebelliously dancing and going crazy.

No 9: Madonna - Vogue 



The music video for Vogue, directed by David Fincher showed Madonna paying tribute to the era of Hollywood actresses. Shot in black and white, the video takes stylistic inspiration from the 20s and 30s and in it, Madonna used her postmodern influence to expose an underground subcultural movement to the masses.

100 Greatest Music Videos. 1

1. # Michael Jackson: Thriller
2. # Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer
3. # A-ha: Take on Me
4. # Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody
5. # Madonna: Like a Prayer
6. # Robbie Williams: Rock DJ
7. # Michael Jackson: Billie Jean
8. # The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony
9. # Madonna: Vogue
10. # Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit
11. # Coldplay: The Scientist
12. # Michael & Janet Jackson: Scream
13. # Pink Floyd: Another Brick in the Wall
14. # Christina Aguilera: Dirrty
15. # REM: Everybody Hurts
16. # OutKast: Hey Ya
17. # Blur: Coffee & TV
18. # Beyonce: Crazy in Love
19. # Madonna: Material Girl
20. # Gorillaz: Clint Eastwood
21. # Queen: I Want to Break Free
22. # Justin Timberlake: Cry Me a River
23. # Britney Spears: ...Baby One More Time
24. # Radiohead: No Surprises
25. # Madness: Baggy Trousers
26. # TLC: Waterfalls
27. # David Bowie: Ashes to Ashes
28. # Foo Fighters: Learn to Fly
29. # Electric Six: Gay Bar
30. # Weezer: Buddy Holly
31. # Eminem: Stan
32. # Chris Isaak: Wicked Game
33. # U2: The Sweetest Thing
34. # The White Stripes: Fell in Love with a Girl
35. # Sinead O'Connor: Nothing Compares 2U
36. # Red Hot Chili Peppers: Give It Away
37. # Guns N Roses: November Rain
38. # Fatboy Slim: Weapon of Choice
39. # Pulp: Common People
40. # Missy Elliot: Get Ur Freak On
41. # The Spice Girls: Wannabe
42. # Bjork: It's Oh So Quiet
43. # Dire Straits: Money for Nothing
44. # Kylie Minogue: Can't Get You Out of My Head
45. # Aerosmith: Crazy
46. # Adam & the Ants: Prince Charming
47. # The Prodigy: Firestarter
48. # Johnny Cash: Hurt
49. # Jamiroquai: Virtual Insanity
50. # Paul Simon: You Can Call Me Al
51. # Run DMC & Aerosmith: Walk This Way
52. # Massive Attack: Teardrop
53. # Wham: Club Tropicana
54. # Daft Punk: Around the World
55. # Fatboy Slim: Praise You
56. # Eminem: Without Me
57. # Meatloaf: I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)
58. # The Cure: Close to Me
59. # Abba: Knowing Me, Knowing You
60. # Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams
61. # The Prodigy: Smack My Bitch Up
62. # Blur: Parklife
63. # George Michael: Outside
64. # Bjork: Human Behaviour
65. # Aphex Twin: Windowlicker
66. # Bob Dylan: Subterranean Homesick Blues
67. # The Beastie Boys: Sabotage
68. # Madonna: Ray of Light
69. # Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Two Tribes
70. # The Police: Every Breath You Take
71. # Bjork: All Is Full of Love
72. # Robert Palmer: Addicted to Love
73. # Basement Jaxx: Where's Your Head At?
74. # Wu-Tang Clan: Gravel Pit
75. # Duran Duran: Rio
76. # The Beatles: Strawberry Fields
77. # MC Hammer: U Can't Touch This
78. # Godley and Creme: Cry
79. # New Order: True Faith
80. # Radiohead: Just
81. # Ultravox: Vienna
82. # 50 Cent: In Da Club
83. # Shakespear's Sister: Stay
84. # The Boomtown Rats: I Don't Like Mondays
85. # Sid Vicious: My Way
86. # The Streets: Fit But You Know It
87. # Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime
88. # Elton John: I Want Love
89. # Smashing Pumpkins: Tonight Tonight
90. # The Pet Shop Boys: Go West
91. # The Specials: Ghost Town
92. # Herbie Hancock: Rockit
93. # The Rolling Stones: We Love You
94. # Bonnie Tyler: Total Eclipse of the Heart
95. # The Cardigans: My Favourite Game
96. # So Solid Crew: 21 Seconds
97. # Cornershop: Brimful of Asha
98. # Bronski Beat: Smalltown Boy
99. # Supergrass: Pumping on Your Stereo
100. # Musical Youth: Pass the Dutchie

Purpose Of A Music Promo Video.

• To promote the single.
• To promote the artist.
• To increase sales of the single, as well as the artist's other music.
• To gain interest in related entities, such as a film or television show.
• To show the artist's interpretation of their song.
• To cause controversy and therefore publicity.
• To highlight certain issues.
• To hide the flaws of the song.
• To increase the artist's fanbase.
• To market a particular image.
• To entertain.
• To make an artistic statement.
• Product placement.

The purpose of a video could also be to change the profile of the band, to show people that they are changing/have changed, and are trying to attract a new kind of audience. A band who have done this are Mcfly. When they were first trying to attract an audience, they used bright coloured videos, with bright backgrounds, that were 'cute,joky and fun, such as this one...


However, 8 years later, the band are older and understand that they need to attract a new audience, so they changed their style of video to a darker, more serious style, where they dress in dark and edgy cothes, have choreographed dancers and gothic like backgrounds, with more controlled editing, like in this video...


A music can also publicise the artist by causing controversy. An artist who has done this many times is Christina Aguilera with songs and videos such as 'Dirrty', or 'Beautiful'. Both of these videos changed Christina Aguilera's image and caused extreme controversy in the media and in the public overall.




To remove her 'Disney girl' image, Christina performs a song solely about sex and stars in a video in which she is wearing, acting and dancing provocatively. This stunned audiences and in turn caused a lot of controversy. However, it DID make Christina succesfull, and gave her a new, adult image.

My Favourite Music Video.

One of my favourite music videos, is Sorry For Party Rocking by LMFAO. I like the fact that this video has a slight simple joke-like back story to it, and that people who are large fans of the group, LMFAO, understand the humour behind the video. However, it still makes sense and is funny to those who aren't big fans. I like the fact that the mis-en-scene is cartoon-like/plastic-like and colourful, giving the impression that it is taking place in a 'fake' world. The whole theme of the video is fun, and this is shown by the fact that everything is colourful and exciting, the people in the video are dancing around, drunk and drinking alcohol, dressing up in colourful outfits, singing and making a mess. This is also shown in the editing of the video, at moments such as 4.07 onwards, when the editing speeds up to emphasize the excitement and drunkness of the people at the party.






Another music video that i particularly enjoy is the video to Parklife by Blur. I like the fact that each line of the song matches most of the video, like at 0.50 when a fat man walks past and the lead actor says, 'you should cut out on your porklife mate'. I enjoy the fact that although the lyrics to the song are somewhat depressing, the video is rather comical and fun. This is shown by the fact thtat it takes place in a grubby town, that they describe as 'parklife', however it seems summery ans sunny. There are also people dancing around with bright coloured umbrellas, and the editing is relatively fast when the chorus comes in, to show the most exciting part of the song. The video attracts all kinds of audience, as its set in a lower class, 'grubby' town, and this makes people feel as if Blur know how it feels to be in a grubby area, singing about their 'Parklife'.

Coursework Brief.

Our coursework brief is to produce a music 'promo' video, of up to 5 minutes, either working on your own or in a group of up to four members.

We also need to produce a 'digipak' for its release on DVD and a magazine advertisement for that DVD.

Welcome to my A2 music video, media blog. This blog will chart my progress through the year, and on it i will include details of filming, planning, research, and production of my music video coursework!