Locations

I will probably need a couple of different locations for the video that I want to do. These will be for the two different stories I will have in it, and will include a performance part and a narrative.

Location one – this will be for the performance part of my video and will be set somewhere where I can find a totally white background. This is something that can easily be created anywhere, and will likely be able to be done at home. Having it outside could be good as well as it could create a good effect with the boy’s hair as he sings, like a fan would as well as having the natural light to effectively light the screen.

Location two – this would be a location for the narrative, and would probably be used nearer the beginning but only in small snippets. It would be in my bedroom, and would be of the girl crying. As my bed’s headboard consists of a black heart pattern, it would be quite effective and juxtaposition to have a crying girl next to it.

Location three – could perhaps be in a wood (Bourne?). As I will be filming in December there is likely to be snow. This in a forest would be quite lonely and cold, signifying the girl’s own feelings. The same would be without snow, though the snow would make it stronger. 

I’m not sure if this is the best idea as it might not fit well with the rest of the images, but I think that either the wood, or fields, would be good to use due to their silence, emptiness and loneliness. I will have to choose a part of them that isn’t often seen however, as otherwise it will make it look tacky (for example not on the main footpaths).

Christian Rock

Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are Christian varies between bands. The band I have chosen has a moral, but nothing particularly Christian. Though the song is trying to tell you to hope, look to the light and have faith, there is nothing in it that actually names the Christian religion. Although the band states it is Christian rock, it also seems to be mixed with an acoustic genre too.

Rock and roll music was not viewed favorably by most traditional Christians when it became popular with young people from the 1950s, even though early rock music was often influenced by country and gospel music. Religious people in many regions of the United States did not want their children exposed to music with unruly, impassioned vocals, loud guitar riffs and jarring, hypnotic rhythms. Often the music was overtly sexual in nature, as in the case of Elvis Presley.



Jars of Clay in concert, 2007



In the 1960’s, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Paris student riots and other events served as catalysts for youth activism and political withdrawal or protest, which became associated with rock bands, whether or not they were openly political. Moreover, many saw the music as promoting a lifestyle of promiscuous "sex, drugs and rock and roll", also reflected in the behavior of many rock stars. However, there was growing recognition of the diverse musical and ideological potential of rock. Countless new bands sprang up in the mid-to-late 1960s, as rock displaced older, smoother pop styles to become the dominant form of pop music, a position it would enjoy almost continuously until the end of the 20th century.



Many Christian bands produce videos with rotation on MTV in mind; however, the images can lead to an ambiguous impression of the portrayal.

I wont be looking to do a video that it purely Christian, or has a strong Christian theme. This is because



·        I myself am not religious

·        The song doesn’t have hugely Christian elements to it

·        I don’t think it would appeal very well to the audience who are most likely to watch it (teenagers who watch music channels)

I may use some elements of Christianity, for example having the singer wear a cross around his neck. This is likely to be the most that I will do however, as it would take the mind too far away from the song otherwise. The genre might be Christian rock but its lyrics don’t show other than the moral that runs through it.

This is the Promo that I did with a couple of others in my class. It was something we did to try and get the hang of creating a music video and syncing the lips to the music. Though it isnt in the style or genre that I will be using, it did allow me some practice at putting things together on the Mac and cutting the footage to the length I need it to fit in with the music. It also allowed me to see what effects are available to me and how they look when put into practice. It let me have a play around with footage in the attempt to make it look like a music video.
We also took inspiration from the original video, Emenem's 'Without Me'. We added some things, such as the counting on the fingers for the '5, 4, 3, 2, 1' that was in the original video. This being said, we didn't add a lot else from it into the video, showing us that we can add our own creativity and resources to create a good video whilst still keeping the feel of its predecessor.

Some idea's for the video

Idea one

Mixture of narrative and performance. Having bits and pieces of a guy singing, and other bits of a girl who feels alone and frightened. Following the moral feeling of the lyrics. Perhaps having the girl crying at times ‘there’s a time to cry’ then the guy singing, ‘but its not tonight’.

The guy’s singing would be quite upbeat, contrasting to the girl who would seem very lonely and sad. Perhaps bright colours of the guy and dulled colours (even perhaps black and white) for the girl. The girl’s bit could grow in colours as the song goes on, as the guys words get through to her and she becomes more determined to ‘find it’.

No band, but just a man singing with a microphone, perhaps on a white background, the white showing purity perhaps. Inspired by the video of ‘love like woe’ by the ready set. The dulled colours of the narrative inspired by Ed Sheeran’s video of ‘the A team’

Idea two

Purely performance based with whole band, but perhaps moving the band from place to place; having close ups of the people/instruments before switching to another location. I like the idea off colour; could perhaps A – find more colourful/lively places to move the band to as it goes on, or B – filtering the colour in more and more as the story goes along, starting off quite dark and dreary but ending up hopeful. Lighter.

Not sure how much I like this idea, and it wont be very easy (if possible at all) to get a band to do it as I don’t know anyone who’s in a band. It would also be hard to move a whole band from place to place with the resources and time I have.

my mood board

This is my mood board for my first idea. It will hopefully be able to give me some more idea's for what I want to do and what shots I may use.

Camera shots

Extreme wide shot

In the extreme wide shot, the view is so far from the subject that they aren’t even visible. The point of this shot is to show the subject's surroundings.

It is useful in scenes where the action is very spread out, like war films; an extreme wide shot can show the scale of the action. But this isn’t really a very suitable shot for a music video as there isn’t much to show of this kind of thing and I probably won’t use it.

Very wide shot

The very wide shot is much closer to the subject than an extreme wide shot, but still much further away than a wide shot. The subject is visible but only just. The emphasis is very much on placing him in his environment. This, also, is probably not one of the shots I will use as its still a little far away, though I may use it a little. As I need to be able to see him/his lip syncing most of the time, a wide shot would not be the best to use.




Wide shot

In the wide shot, the subject takes up the full frame. The subject’s feet are almost at the bottom of frame and their head is almost at the top. Obviously the subject doesn't take up the whole width and height of the frame, since this is as close as we can get without losing any part of them. I may use this shot a fair amount in our music video, but probably not as much as some of the close up shots. This is because, though it shows the whole person, be it the band, the person who is singing or anyone else, it doesn’t have the same effect in a music video that closer shots have.




Mid shot

The mid shot shows some part of the subject in more detail, whilst still showing enough for the audience to feel as if they were looking at the whole subject. This is a shot we will perhaps use more of, as you can see a lot of the person’s upper torso, but it’s not too close that it feels uncomfortable. This is a good shot for a music video of the genre I am looking at.




Medium close-up

The medium close-up is half way between a mid shot and a close up. This shot shows the face more clearly, without getting uncomfortably close. This is also a good shot for me to use, perhaps even better than just a mid shot. This is because it keeps your focus on the person singing the song, and the lip syncing that I will be doing. 




Close up

In the close-up shot, a certain feature or part of the subject takes up most of the frame. A close up of a person usually means a close up of their face. This is probably be one that I will use, as it will be beneficial for my video, seeing as I will probably be using it for lip syncing.

Extreme close up

Though an extreme close up doesn’t show you a lot, it is used often in music videos and I will probably use it for ours. It’s a shot that gives perspective and adds another point of view for the audience to look at, helping to keep the images flowing. It also helps to focus on the person ‘singing’ and draw the audience’s attention to them and what they are saying.




Cut in

A cut in is when you focus on a part of the subject in particular, like their feet or their hands and can be used purely as an edit point, or to emphasise emotion. For example, hand movements can show enthusiasm, agitation, nervousness, etc. this would perhaps be good for me, by focusing perhaps on his hands, to emphasize the words he was singing, like when someone moves their hands when they speak. It could also be used as an addition of another shot, to keep the video flowing and to keep it interesting.




Cutaway

A cutaway is a shot that's usually of something other than the current action. It could be a different subject, a close up of a different part of the subject (like a cut in), or just about anything else. I will probably use this in my music video.




Two shot

There are a few variations on this one, but the basic idea is to have a comfortable shot of two people. This is often used in interviews, or when two presenters are hosting a show. I could use it in out video though, as the band we have chosen consists of more than one person. 

Song Lyric Analisis

lyric's wordle

Music Channel Ratings

MTV was expected to be the highest rated channel, as it has many branch of channels such as "MTV Shows" and "MTV+1", and also more specific channels such as "MTV Base" and "MTV Dance"; which are more specific to a certain audience, yet still an MTV channel, something that would be good for my video. Not only this though but it contains many different genres of music and therefore appeals to a wider variety of people. ‘Scuzz’ for example, has lower ratings due to its niche market, appealing to people who prefer a certain type of music, generally with a genre of rock/screamo.

Because of this, I would aim for my video to be put onto MTV's mainstream channel, as it is most popular and also mainly watched by people that meet my target audience. It is also a very well known channel that gains more and more viewers all the time. MTV's ratings would increase the success of the video and help to make the band more public.