Choosing My Soundtrack

When choosing a soundtrack to accompany my music video I had to take into account many different aspects when choosing one. I came across a lot of songs that I felt could be suitable however, I must take into account specific and the most important aspects when looking for an appropriate song.

For example, I need to ask myself:

• what is the length of the song?
• who is the target audience?
• how relatable are the lyrics?
• how well known is the song?
• how old is the song?
• is there an accompanying music video?
• what genre does the song belong to?

I began to look at songs such as:

Ed Sheeran: Sofa

MGMT: Of Moons, Birds and Monsters- (indie rock)

MGMT: Time to Pretend- (indie rock)

Fenech Soler: Lies- (indie pop)

Dubba Jonny: What Have You Got?- (drum and bass)

Biffy Clyro: Bubbles- (metal)

All of which are from a variety of genres, therefore I had to narrow it down to one genre, I picked Indie Rock. I ended up choosing indie rock as I could picture a scene setting more closely related to the genre than I could for the others.

Moving forward from this I began to look into more Indie Rock artists such as Foster the People and Passion Pit. I then found the following songs that inspired me greatly:

Foster the People- Helena Beat

MGMT-Electric Feel

Passion Pit-Sleepyhead

Choosing a Soundtrack on Prezi

As seen above in the Prezi, I then decided I would go with Helena Beat by Foster the People. This is because I felt it was the song that would

1. Suit my ideas best

2. Was the most dynamic

3. Could relate to many different scenarios

4. It was my favourite as I was inspired as soon as I heard it

Lyrics | Foster The People lyrics - Helena Beat lyrics

Moodboard

Here is a Moodboard showing the Artist Foster the People.

Moodboard representing Foster the People

The moodboard includes some stills from one of their music videos- pumped up kicks. Also includes band images from touring and general daily life as the band. And centered in an album cover of one of the earliest albums the band had made.

Indie Rock

MGMT

The band was founded in 2005 by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. The duo were originally signed with Cantora Records however, later signed with Columbia Records in 2006- which boosted them on their way to success. Ben and Andrew formed the band while studying at Wesleyan University during there first year. They originally named their band "The Management" but since the name was already being used they changed their name to MGMT.

The duo are most well known for their song, "Time to Pretend".

The lyrics have passionate meanings behind them, that leave the listener in deep thought about the lyrics and sometimes there own personal life.

"The first verse of the songs talks about all the mistakes and stupid decisions we make as kids. It also talks about rebelling against your parents and living life the easy way. Its about being afraid to live a real life, finding real people who care about you. The song then goes on to reflect on all the things you begin to miss when you realise how important they were to you. Its also about regret and looking back on the bad decisions and seeing the reality of everything. "

Due to the bands indie rock and psychedelic vibe, they have also managed to catch this in their video (as seen above) by the use of some of the following conventions:

• The opening title of the video conveys a child-like picture and is very simple yet appealing and effective towards the viewer.
• There are numerous low angle shots through out the video displaying the thought of dominance over the world and everyone that loves them. This is ironic as the song continues, as the angle changes also.
• The repeated images of numerous figure it also gives off a very hypnotic trance which catches the viewers attention.
• There is a large range of colours that are used throughout the whole of the video. This relates to the indie rock in the essence that colour has a lot of relevance to the genre. This video oozes in colour
• Overall the video itself has the element of pretending.

Choosing a Genre Indie Rock, DNB, Acoustic

As part of my first stage of planning I decided to look into genres that could be appropriate, I will look at Indie-Rock, Drum and Bass and Acoustic.

This is a sub-genre of Alternative Rock that originates in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s.

It is also extremely diverse within the genre including such things as lo-fi, noise rock and indie pop.

"Indie rock derived from "independent", describes the the small and relatively low budget labels on which it is released and the do-it-yourself attitude of bands and artists involved. The bands host different and unique sounds which they are able to explore, as well as emotions and subjects of limited appeal to large, mainstream audiences. Influences to this style of genre is also very diverse including, punk, psychedelia, rock and country"

Allmusic (service of music guiding) identifies indie rock as including a number of styles that are:

"too soft and delicate; too dreamy and hypnotic; too personal and intimately revealing in its lyrics; too low-fiddly and low-budget in its production; too angular in its melodies and riffs; to raw, skronky and abrasive, wrapped up in too many sheets if Sonic Youth/ Dinosaur Jr./Pixies/Jesus &MAry Chain-style guitar noise; too oblique and fractures in its song structures; too influenced by experimental or otherwise unpopular musical styles."

Next I looked at the Indie Rock genre, immediately I had visions of potential ideas that could work effectively. I mainly focused my attention on MGMT and Foster the People because of the element of psychedelic feelings.

The greek meaning for this work translates as soul-manifesting which makes a lot of sense as the music by these artists seem to hold you and trance you with a twist to create a warm feeling inside the chest cavity.

These songs are usually about being "free" and "alive" some with the use of drugs and many of the songs to do withregret, but learning to surpass it and still carry on living life to the full. I have lively ideas for this genre and would consider it as a potential genre. The only this I am worried about isweather, as it would need to be filmed in particularly sunny weather. The only other way around this was if it were filmed inside of with the use of lighting.

Use of slow motion (over cranking) is typically used in these music videos to create a soft, gentle and calm atmosphere that also entices the viewer to be compelled to watch. This is something I would like to explore through my video.

Such artists include: MGMT, Passion Pit, Foster the People

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Drum and Bass (also written as DNB) is a type of electronic music which emerged in the 1990s.

The genre is characterised by the fast breakbeats, with heavy bass and sub-bass lines. It began in the UK at "rave scenes" and over its first decade of existence, the incorporation of elements from various musical genres led to many permutations in its overall style.

The genre places a large importance on its bass line and the deep sub-bass musical pattern which can be felt physically through some powerful sound systems, due to the favoured low frequencies.

The physical feel of the bass line that is said to "ripple" through the body is what makes this genre of music so appealing.

As the name depicts, the bass element of the music is particularly pronounced, with the comparatively s p a r s e arrangements of drum and bass tracks allowing room for basslines that are lower than most forms of dance music. Consequently, drum and bass parties are often advertised as featuring "uncommonly loud and bass-heavy sound systems."

When looking at Drum and Bass I found it appealed to me as my favourite genre out of the three. There are also many music videos that are made from artists of this genre and therefore I am inspired by previous work and also have a rough idea of what I would like to achieve out of this.

The ideas consist around the use of night, which is relatively easy as I do not need to worry about weather so much. The only thing I need to worry bout with this genre is lyrics. Not many of the songs have lyrics and therefore I could not possibly convey the story without the use of lyrics. This is the only factor affecting my descison.

However, the lyrics are usually not that important as the video usually does all of the "talking" and therefore the viewer is more enticed into the video. The element of slow motion is very common in this genre also.

Such artists include: Nero, Flux Pavillion, Modestep, Dj Fresh

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Acoustic genre is that which compromises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through an entire acoustic means.

This usually involves a solo artist and one instrument; more commonly- an acoustic guitar. It started to become increasingly popular in the 1990s.

Also artists who perform usually depending on electrical equipment when the electrical equipment gets substituted for acoustic means, it is referred to as "unplugged".

Such artists include: Ed Sheeran, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat

I looked into Acoustic as that was the one that appealed to me the most. One of my favourite artists of that genre would be Ed Sheeran with his effortless lyrics and talented instrumentals.

After reviewing the songs "Sofa" and "One Night" along with a few others I found they were all of a mixed meaning, some to do with love, others with drugs, and also loss of a loved one through a break-up.

Taking this into account and then applying it into ideas for a video, nothing sparked my attention or inspired me.

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Taking the above into account, I believe having a Indie Rock theme would best suit my ideas as it is the genre that has inspired me most and is the one I believe I can adapt to best. My next step is to choose a song from this genre.

Video analysis of Stan by Eminem

The music video I will analyse in Eminem's story of "Stan" which features pop singer Dido. The story is of a fictional character known as Stan who is an over obsessed fan who dedicates most of his time and effort to the rapper through writing letters. Dido- who sings the chorus throughout the song is shown as Stan's heavily pregnant girlfriend, who he beats and abuses and later we find out actually kills her along with himself in a river. She has used the chorus of own song "Thank You" in this video, possibly to promote herself.

The lyrics in the first three verses of the song are spoken through the character of "Stan", writing endless informal letters to Eminem. The final fourth verse in the song is of Eminem finally replying to Stan. However, it is here that Eminem realises that a recent death on the news was actually this obsessed fan who had sent countless letters to him was actually- Stan. His realisation highlighted and reflected to the viewer in the video as Stan's face appears on the window next to Eminem as lightenimg flashes outside. Pathetic fallacy is present here following Stan's death, and it is ironic that only after his death that Eminem recieves the letters that have been long awaited to be read and replyed to.

I believe that this video is conveying a message suggested by Eminem about some of his obsessive fans. It cannot be doubted that Eminem is extremly popular and loved across the world. However, some fans take it to the extreme such as the character of Stan who we are shown in this video. Stan is extremely obessed and chaotic with his love for the rapper. The video is conveying a message form Eminem in saying he could be concerned or a bit fed up with recieving obsessive fan mail from people who threaten to kill themselves and as a result chooses not to read them, and therefore do not reply. We see the outcome in the video of "Stan". Its a plea to fans that he will reply but he cannot always do so quickly.

The beginning of the video shows a short clip as a introduction to the music, which lasts around about a minute. It shows a shot that is slow moving yet not in slow motion, the camera is making a crane movement as it moves from outside the house and into the bedroom through a window. This notion of viewing is called voyeurism, and this is because the audience do not realise that they are watching the couple. Pathetic fallacy is portrayed by the use of heavy rain, thunder and bursts of lightening. This storm also mirrors the couples relationship, as stan is constantly angry and abusive towards his pregnant partner.

As the video begins Stans' partner goes to the toilet, and a cross cut is used to show her walking through the hall and also shows Stan bleaching his hair to the same colour as Eminiem's, in the bathroom. There are also many close-ups mainly of Stan once his hair had been dyed. These close up shows Stan expressing less angered looks. Althought the close up shows Stan in focus the viewer is also still able to see his partner in the background and she appears to have a worried expression upon her face. This allows the audience to feel her emotion and therefore the audience becomes worried, the tension in the atmosphere also contributes to this worry. This repeatitative use of voyeurism lets the audience see how other people see Stan- as his partner is giving off vibes and expressions of concern and panic as Stan is dying his hair.

Following this the video shows many transitions of frames, such as fades. The use of a fade transition shows how time has gone by. Also it represents the obsession of frequent letters sent to Eminem by Stan as the fade can represent a change in time. The first chorus is sung by Stan's partner- 'Dido', which leads a slow pan movement down into the house basement, where Stan is writing frantically to Eminem again. The distance the camera travels before it reaches Stan portrays the distance in the relationship they share together. The use of a slow pan movement around the room allows the audience to see the escalating insanity of Stan as the audience is expossed to ever growing pictures and posters of Eminem. When Stan writes to Eminem a cross cut is used and fades form Stan to Eminem reading the letter. This therefore makes it apparent that after writing countless letters only one has reached him.

Following this Stan then goes onto say how his "girlfriends pregnant now, I'm about to be a father" in which the video conveys this into a less positive aspect as it shows Stan's partner and his unborn child sitting alone and looking up towards the ceiling as if she is crying out for help to God. This shows the audience that Stan is more concerned about being a father than his girlfriend who is carrying his child, all because Eminem is a father. There is also a frame where Stan is looking into a mirror and he sees Eminem. This contributes that Stan is ever growing with obession and that he no longer sees himself. Again the shot adds to the voyeurism used throughout the video.

The video follows on to show Stan being at a concert and watching Eminem from the crowd. He is at the front row and a Point of View Shot shows how Stan watches Eminem- again with additional use of voyeurism. The video also shows fans standing out in the cold waiting for Eminem after the show, however he was led away from the fans by security, however, Stan portrayed this as Eminem was ignoring him and a fade then shows Stan's facial expression back in the basement as he wirtes angrily to Eminem about the situation. Stan sees this as a personal act towards him rather than something that was out of Eminem's control. This therefore ends up emphasising Stan's additction to Eminem. Stan also gets Eminems nickname "slim shady" tattooed on his chest. The tattoo is permenant which also represents Stans permentant addiction for Eminem.

Stans partner is later found in the basement looking astounded at Eminems fixations created by Stan. A mid-shot is shown of her in shock at seeing a photo of the couple together with her covered over with a picture of Eminem allows the audidence to see not only how obsessed he has become over time but also Stan standing behind her watching her- this conveys that she is not safe and the audience immediately becomes concerned for her.

This then becomes apparent when the video shows Stan drving irratically through a storm talking into a tape recorder intended for Eminem, the cuts begin to get quicker as it portrays the tension is building and the shot lengths begin to also shorten to show the anger in Stan. The video then shows a shot where Stan is looking in his rear view mirror which portrays voyeurism to the audience and emphasises his insanity as a picture of Eminem is hanging from the mirror. The lyrics in this section of the video are partically censored because he has tied his girlfriend up and put her in the boot of the car which shows he has lost all sanity and that it could result in his killing himself along with his girlfriend and unborn child . As the cuts quicken the video and shows more panic as Stan begins to lose control as he heads towrads a bridge that is under road construction. The video the cuts to show the car going off the bridge and the video then shows over cranking as the car hits the water. It adds drama as this long frame symbolises the death of Stan and his partner along with his unborn child. It also slows the video down form being quick paced and having very short cuts to a long cut this entices the audience.

Once the car is submerged the video cuts to show Eminem's reply to Stan, which is unknowignly too late. It shows Eminems recall of events which as slightly blurred as this may resemble a struggle of ability to remeber where he has been when Stan was there. This part of the song shows Eminem rapping rather than Stan and he quotes "I hope this reaches you in time, before you hurt yourself," the video matches this ironically as the car is pulled from the water with the help of emergency services. This adds to the tradgedy that Eminems letter was too late. The mise en scene used in this ending of the video emphasises the tragedy further as the flahsing lights and yellow uniforms resemble injury and death. Pathetic fallacy is used again as the dark night and heavy rian continues through the duration of the video as the horrific weather matches the situation.

The end of the video shows a news report of what happened to Stan as Eminem raps about what he heard ironically while writing it down in the letter to Stan. It becomes apparent to Eminem that the tape found in the car was mean't for him and that Stan had killed himself.

The final shot is a medium shot showing Stan's little brother mourning over Stan's gravestone, this shot shows the audience he has dyed his hair the same colour as Stan. This could potentially mean that as little brother want to be like there older siblings he will go on to do what Stan did. In the cemetary heavy rain and stormy atmospheres combine to create a dark and negative atmosphere which holds in the audiences mind. This also shows that the younger brother may have looked up to Stan as Stan looked up to Eminem as he is trying to copy Stan in his appearance.

Famous Music Videos

"The most popular music videos by one one particular artist would definitely be by Michael Jackson with no competition- what so ever"

Michael Jackson is known for his quirky, original and mesmerising dance moves. So when they came to the screen his fans and everyone around the world would fall in love instantly. The most famous example would be his "THRILLER short film" which is 13 minutes which includes acting, dance and the song "thriller"

This video quickly became one of the most popular music videos of all time and even today 29 years on from when it was made (1982) it remains the ultimate music video.

M.J also holds the title for the most expensive music video ever made. Along with his sister Janet the pair made their video "Scream" In 1995 they paid $7,000,000 which today means the value would be around $10,000,000.

and you can see why!

Coldplay are also a worldwide known band. They recorded a video to their song "the Scientist". Due to the video being played in reverse (from finish to start) lead singer Chris Martin had to learn the lyrics backwards for the whole of the song. Which took him approximately a month. "It wasn't the easiest thing I have ever done!"

One music video that I found which I thought was very interesting and extremely controversial was by the band Nine Inch Nails (NIN). What I liked most about this video was the detail and attention put into it through the lyrics and the irony shown through the video itself. It caught my attention quite a bit, with the dark and twisted lyrics along with explicit content, it makes you want to watch all of the video and see what they can come up with next.

In contrast, Katy Perry is another performer who excels with her quirky and interesting idea when it comes to music videos. Her attention to detail however is through props and make-up. Which gives the song a vivid feeling and keeps a lasting effect on the viewer. That is what I like most about Katy Perry.

Brief

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the band;
• a cover for its release as part of the digipak (CD/DVD package);
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

2. A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the film;
• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film;
• a poster for the film.

3. The first level of a new computer game, together with two of the following three options:

• the cover for the game's package;
• a magazine advertisement for the game;
• a radio advertisement for the game.

NOTE: All material for all tasks are to be produced by you yourself with the exception of acknowledged non-original sound or image material used in a limited way in video / radio work.

Formats - Video work must be in DVD format; audio work must be in CD format. No print item should be larger than A3 size. Games should be either in Flash format or playable on an exiting console.

REMEMBER:

• Maintain a consistent house style throughout all 3 platforms i.e. same colour schemes, page layouts, mode of address etc.
• Maintain a tangible link between all 3 media products e.g. use still frames from a video sequence within a poster or DVD cover and or embed clips of video within a webpage.
• Create a logo that will brand the product across all 3 platforms.
• Incorporate the expectations of your audience into your product.