Planning tasks, Initial Ideas and Maroon 5

Production Diary #7

This week I decided to start on the planning tasks for my coursework as I finally managed to decide on what song I wanted to do a music video for - Maps by Maroon 5. I had initially thought about choosing a song that had a slow tempo. However, I struggled to pick a particular song that I felt I would be able to recreate in video form. Instead, I thought that a more up tempo song would fit quite nicely as the message I inferred from the song was that someone was trying to find something/someone that they lost.

When considering my initial ideas, I looked at videos that have inspired me - be that the basic narrative that they portray, the location of the video or the shots and movement of the camera - but also what props I should use, locations, costumes, the official music video for the song I have chosen, behind the scenes, lyric videos and also what type of music video I wish to produce. By doing this, I feel that it is helping me keep track of what ideas I wish to use, but also will help me when it comes to preparing my proposal for the music video later down the line. The planning and research tasks are very important in helping me come up with the ideas and starting the foundations for my music video which I hope to start filming next week when October starts. I have also asked one of my teachers if it would be possible to take a camera out over Half Term as there are a couple of plans that have been made which could be useful when it comes to putting together the prequel using 'B Footage.'

Next week I hope to carry on with more of the planning tasks as I have only got a couple of research tasks yet to complete, however do not believe I am ready to do these just yet. Over the next week and a half I wish to start thinking up ideas of where to film, what I wish to film and the results I would like to get from the footage I will possibly get over the October half term holiday. One task I do wish to complete in the near future is a more in depth look into the band Maroon 5 as I believe that the powerpoint presentation that I produced is quite basic with limited information.

Initial Planning Ideas

Over the past couple of weeks I have been considering some ideas for the planning and production of my music video for the song I have recently decided on - 'Maps' by the pop/rock band Maroon 5. Some things I have been considering are location, props, costumes and how to use the camera in terms of filming and editing the video. Below I have produced a Prezi that showcases the ideas that I have got.

Pop Rock Music (Influence of Style)

Maroon 5 are a band that produce Pop/Rock Music with songs such as 'Maps' and 'Moves like Jagger.' The band got together in the 90's and have so far released five albums of the pop/rock genre. With Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Micky Madden and Ryan Dusick forming the original band 'Kara's Flowers' in High School who initially produced songs of the genre 'Britpop' which is a form of alternative rock, the band have produced a variety of songs from a variety of music genres. 

Pop Music
Pop music is a genre of popular music which originated in its modern form in the 1950s where it derived from the rock and roll genre. As a genre, it is very eclectic with it taking elements from various genres including urban, rock, Latin, dance and country. However, there are particular elements which define pop music and make it differ from other styles of music:

• short/medium length songs
• basic structure (verse chorus verse)
• repeated choruses
• melodic tunes
• catchy hooks

Pop music has influenced many people, however with the main demographic being adolescents and teens, it has really influenced their lives and habits in man ways. The music videos for example may influence teens to want to take dance classes, or it could affect what decision (career wise) they would want to pursue in the future. Also, teens who follow the life of the musician or artist through the internet on social mediums such as twitter and YouTube wish to emulate this which can have a good, but also adverse effect on them.

The lyrics of a pop song can also be very influential, especially over younger teenagers, for example:

• lyrics that feature violence and the encouragement of this may influence them to be violent or have rebellious tendencies
• those who listen to songs that degrade sex or are quite sexual tend to have sex at younger ages

Rock Music
Rock music is a genre of music that was commonly known as 'rock and roll' in the US during the 50s which it later developed into a range of other styles and genres over the years prior to its development. Musically, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as a part of a rock group where drums are also normally involved.  Like pop music, lyrics seem to have many romantic tendencies and references, but also other references that usually have a social or political emphasis.

Rock music has been influenced by rhythm and blues and country music from the 40s, but also drew ideas from folk, jazz and classical. However, since the evolution of rock music, there have been many sub genres, including; blues rock, folk rock, country rock, jazz-rock fusion, glam rock, heavy metal, psychedelic rock, alternative rock, rap rock, garage rock, synthpop and punk rock music.

Rock music has resulted in a massive impact on society with it influencing daily life, fashion, attitudes and language. As the demographic of rock music has matured, the music became an accepted and deeply interwoven thread in a popular culture. With it beginning in the 70s, rock songs and acts were beginning to be used in TV adverts, but also TV and film soundtracks,

In the cross-over of African American "race music" to a growing white youth audience, the popularisation of rock and roll involved both black performers reaching a white audience and white performers appropriating African American music. Rock and roll appeared at a time when racial tensions in the US were entering a new phase, starting with the beginnings of the civil rights movement for desegregation.

The rock and roll lifestyle was popularity associated with sex and drugs. Many of rock and roll's early starts were known as hard drinking, hard living characters. During the 1960s, the lifestyles of many stars became more publicly known, aided by the growth of the underground rock press. Musicians had always attracted the attention of "groupies" who spent time with and often did sexual favours for band members.

Rock music and fashion have always had some links. In the mid 60s of the UK, rivalry arose between "Mods" and "Rockers," each style had their own favoured musical acts. In the 60s, The Beatles brought mop-top haircuts, collarless blazers, and Beatle Boots into fashion. Rock musicians were also early adopters of hippie fashion and popularised such styles as long hair and the Nehru jacket. As rock music genres became more segmented, what an artist wore became as important as the music itself in defining the artist's intent and relationship to the audience. In the early 70s, glam rock became widely influential featuring glittery fashions, high heels and camp. In the late 70s, disco acts helped bring flashy urban styles to the mainstream, while punk groups began wearing mock-conservative attire, in an attempt to be as unlike mainstream rock musicians, who still favoured blue jeans and hippie-influenced clothes. Heavy metal bands in the 80s often favoured a strong visual image. For some bands, this consisted of leather or denim jackets and pants, spikes/studs and long hair. Visual image was a strong component of the glam metal movement. In the early 90s, the popularity of grunge brought in a punk influence to fashion of its own, including torn jeans, old shoes, flannel shirts, backwards baseball hats, and grew they hair against the clean-cut image that was popular at the time in heavily commercialised pop music culture. Musicians continue to be fashion icons: pop culture magazines such as 'Rolling Stone' often include fashion layouts featuring musicians as models.

Songwriters such as Pete Townshend have explored these spiritual aspects within their work. The common usage of the term "rock god" acknowledges the religious quality of the adulation some rock stars receive. Some metal bands use demonic imagery for artistic and/or entertainment purposes, though they do not worship or believe in Satan. Ozzy Osbourne is reported to be Anglican and Alice Cooper is a known born again Christian. In some cases, though, metal performers have expressed satanic views.

Videos I Admire

There are many music videos by various artists from different genres and styles of music that I enjoy to watch. However, there are particular songs and videos that I admire for many different reasons, and here are a few:



This is the video for 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri. What I admire and enjoy about this video is the simplicity of the video with the thousands of tealight candles and the lighting that has been used. I believe that this video will influence the style of video I decide to film as I would also like to create a minimalistic video with a small number of props. One of the songs on my shortlist; Maps, is different to this video in terms of the pace and tempo of the backing track, however I believe that the key prop that I would use would be a map, and that is all as I believe that I would solely use this to portray the message I wish to convey.



This is the video for 'Beating Heart' by Ellie Goulding. What I admire and enjoy about this video is the choice of camera movement, shots and the darker lighting used. I like the idea of the character in the video being tracked by the camera which I believe would fit with both of the songs that I am considering. For 'Fix You' by Coldplay, the key lyric I would play on would be 'lights will guide you home' so the tracking movement of the camera will help convey the idea of someone being gudied home. However, in 'Maps' by Maroon 5, The quick tracking and movement of the camera will help portray the urgency to find their way back to where they want to be.



This is the video for 'Broken' by Lifehouse. What I admire and enjoy about this video is the strong narrative and story basis that the video is made up of. In terms of the visual imagery that is used, this is the sort of thing that I would like to use for my music video that I will be filming. One feature that I like is the location that the video is shot in and the way that the camera tracks the protagonist in the video. Even though the song that I have chosen has a more upbeat tempo compared to this song, I believe that a narrative would work well due to the lyrics as I believe that it would be easier to create images that are relatable for the audience, but also so that the video fits the lyrics of the song.

Research into chosen genre and artist

I have done some research into my chosen genre of the song (Maps - Maroon 5) I will be using for my music video - Pop Rock. I believe that by completing this research it will give me a good insight into what the song is like and possible content of it. Here is a prezi presenting my findings and below are a few music videos of the pop rock music genre which I believe is a good thing to look at as it will make it possible for me to stick to the conventions typically seen in the videos for this genre of music.



Here are some videos by artists who are considered to be Pop Rock Artists

Choosing a song and researching the artist and their style of music

Production Diary #6

This week in class I decided to have a look at various music festivals and channels that show different genres of music, live performances and music videos. I have had first had experience of this from watching music videos on MTV to going to gigs and concerts such as the iTunes Festival.

I have been undecided as to what song I wanted to do for my music video but have finally narrowed it down to 2 songs, and in my lesson tomorrow I will ask for feedback from others in my class and my teacher as to what song they think would be more successful and effective in terms of the ideas that I have for my music video.

For the song 'Fix You' by Coldplay, I fixated on the repetitive lyric 'lights will guide you home' which, if I choose this song, would be the key aspect played on in the video whilst the camera tracked the character in the clip and they were 'guided home' by various lights.

In terms of the song 'Maps' by Maroon 5, I wanted to play more on the idea of someone being lost and trying to find their way home with a key prop being a map which helps guide them. I think this would be effective and something quite different as I have concluded as I believe that the artistic direction that I wish to follow is more of a narrative based story line as I do not believe that the people I am considering for the video would be happy to perform the song as such.

The genre of the two songs are alternative rock and pop rock, so there is a rock element in both of the songs which I think will help keep the pace of the song going and make it easier for me to keep the flow of the video when attempting to film.

Next week, I hope to have uploaded a post which features my initial ideas that are listed above in more detail and would have hopefully picked which song I wish to use. Then I will be able to go into more detail as to what props, costumes, hair & makeup I will be using.

Existing Music Channels and Festivals

By looking at existing music festivals and expecially music channels, my music video will benefit from this as I have looked into the possible markets that it would be shown on. If the music video were to be a success on the music channels such as MTV or 4Music, then it is possible that the artist would go on to do concerts and perform at festivals so it has given me a good insight into what ones are popular and the styles of genre that is typically performed at either of them.

MTV

MTV is an American based cable and satelite television programme owned by the MTV music and logo group and a subsidary of Viacom Inc. The original purpose of the channel was to air music videos, with its main demographic being young adults, however, this has evolved and is now mainly targeted at adolescents and teens. The first ever video that was shown on MTV was 'The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star.' The chosen videos and the decision on what would be played was guided by on air personalities called 'VJs' or 'Video-Jockeys.' In 1984, the channel produced its first MTV Video Music Awards or 'VMAs.' The first award show was punctuated by a live performance by Madonna of 'Like a Virgin.' The statues that are handed out at the Video Music Awards are of the MTV moon man, the channel's original image from its first broadcast in 1981. Presently, the Video Music Awards are MTV's most watched annual event.

4Music

4Music is a music and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom that launched in the summer months of 2008. 4Music is the sister channel for Channel 4, Kerrang! and Smash Hits, and is owned by Box Television, (Bauer Media Group/Channel Four Television Corporation). Some of the programmes that featured on the channel were: Today's 4Music Top 10, Your Official Top 20, UKHot40, 4Music Doubles, and many others. 4Music hascoverage at both V Festival and T4 on the beach, (the festival shut down when T4 aired for the last time in 2012) and they have/had a stage at both of these music events.

V Festival

V Festival is an annual music festival hosted in England on the penultimate weekend of August. The dea initially came from Pulp's front man Javier Cocker who liked the idea of being able to play 2 different stages, in 2 locations over 2 days. He got together with his management team who thought it was a good idea and they decided to bring in other artists to perform also. The first ever V Festival took place in the August of 1996, where the show took place in Victoria Park, Warrington and Hylands Park, Chelmsford. It started out typically as a rock festival, however over more recent years it has been common for more pop artists to get involved. The festival is sponsored by Virgin Media and was televised on Channel 4's sister channel 4Music, however the rights to air were sold to MTV in 2014. Some of the artists that have headlined or performed at V Fest are: Blur, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Oasis, Kasabian, The Killers, Snow Patrol, The Goo Goo Dolls, Lily Allen, Taylor Swift, Passion Pit, Kaiser Chiefs, Chase & Status, Rihanna, Eminem and David Guetta. In 2007, V Festival Australia was launched in which there was initiall 2 stages, but the year after they expanded to 4. In June of 2006, Richard Branson decided to launch Virgin Festival which was a spin off of the British V Festival, this was held in the United States of America and Canada.

Reading and Leeds Festival

 

Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds, England over the Bank Holiday weekend in August. Reading is the senior of the two festivals and was introduced first and is the worlds oldest popular music festival with rock, alternative, indie, punk and metal dominating the line up. The festivals are run by Festival Republic, divested from Mean Fiddler Music Group. the festivals usually consist of the following stages: Main Stage, NME/Radio 1 Stage, Dance Tent, Lock Up Stage, Festival Republic Stage, 1Xtra Stage, Alternative Tent and BBC Introducing Stage. Artists that have played at the festivals are Arctic Monkeys, Green Day, Kings of Leon, The Killers, Blink-182, Ramones, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, Kasabian, Eminem and My Chemical Romance.

History of Music Videos

By researching and looking into the History of Music Videos allows me to get a good understanding as to how music videos have evolved over a period of time. This research will benefit me when it comes to filming and editing my own video as it'll allow me to get ideas from previous conventions that were used in the videos.

Back to School and Organisation

Production Diary #5

Over the summer holidays, I have not uploaded as many production diaries as I should have and wanted to upload. When I go back to school on the 3rd September, I hope to get back into the routine of uploading a minimum of one production diary per week.

This summer, I have solely concentrated on the research tasks that I needed to complete for my blog as I felt that I did not want to produce any of the planning tasks until I had a definite song for my music video. Even though I am not 100% on what to do, I have narrowed it down to a couple of songs and will gain feedback on this when I get back to school meaning I should be able to start on the planning tasks as soon as possible.

Today, I decided to concentrate on postmodernism and analysis of music videos. This was a post that I was producing for the other side of the course for my exam blog, however I felt that it was relevant so decided to upload it to this blog also and label it as one of my research tasks.

Over the summer, the tasks that I have been able to complete are:
- Music Video Theorists
- Research of Music Video Directors
- What is a Digipak?
- Analysis of previous students coursework
- History of Music Videos