CD Covers

This CD cover by Phoenix deviates from the norm of conventional CD covers. It is very simplistic and works on the idea of a developing image. The Bombs are dropping and are positioned so that it looks like one image in three stages. This is very simplistic and highlights the name and album name in the first bomb, using a contrasting colour and font. I feel the use of three different fonts makes each line stand out and bring more attention to the band name positioned at the bottom. The outline of the album being in a pale pink makes the audience feel calm and relaxed, this counteracts the imagery as the bomb would symbolise pain and destruction. Also the use of a jagged and childlike edging to the album cover represents the band to be very informal and "partylike". Overall i feel this album cover works well for the band but would look drastically wrong and out of place. The only negative aspect is the album name in the handwriting style font as it is difficult to read so the consumer would not find it easy to search online for the cd in the current market.



This album cover by Two Door Cinema Club uses layers on the physical CD cover to construct the image. The typography of the band name is placed onto the front panel of the cd using a vinyl sticker. Leaving the only image used as the cd cover as the cat. A common theme of indie style artwork is using a normal image and enhancing it so it grabs the audiences attention, so for example the cats eyes have been enhanced using photoshop to look evil. This connotes the phrase "in a cats eyes, all things belong to cats" This suits the bands style as the band questions what current ideologies we have. As this phrase could connote, why cant we have what we desire? Overall i feel the imagery works well but looks very basic and couldn't work as anything beyond their first album.




This controverial album cover from Punk band the Sex Pistols is an example of a media text outside our target genre. The cover created much hype due to the obvious use of Bollocks on the cover. Yet this does resemble the nature of the band, the use of the album cover made the band onto newspapers and multi genre music magazines in which they were not usually shown. The case actually got took to court, the court said "Much as my colleagues and I wholeheartedly deplore the vulgar exploitation of the worst instincts of human nature for the purchases of commercial profits by both you and your company, we must reluctantly find you not guilty of each of the four charges.". In this album cover i love the contrasting colours of the text and the lack of imagery. On the other hand a very controversial picture could have excelled the publicity of this album.




This is a more recent example of a Screamo bands album cover. The album cover follows the same route as the sex pistols album cover but did not reach the same criticism. This is could be due to the year of the albums release? or the use of photography instead of words? I love the use of the watermarked bold font. As i feel this is still visible but is shows clear emphasis on the imagery. I feel the use of the girl in simple colours can be used on our artwork as varying colours makes the image look over complex and not a pleasure to look at. Also we are not focusing on the models costume so by not using various colours we can easily draw attention to a more significant part of the artwork.


This album cover is one of the most recognised in the world due to the quality of the music and the number of album covers trying to copy this. The Nevermind album cover shows a baby swimming toward a US dollar bill on a fishhook. According to Cobain, he conceived the idea while watching a television program on water births with Grohl. However, there was some concern because Elden's penis was visible in the image. Geffen prepared an alternate cover without the penis, as they were afraid that it would offend people, but relented when Cobain made it clear that the only compromise he would accept was a sticker covering the penis that would say, "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile." The controvery of including the nudity resulted in more publicity for the band. I love in this artwork that it shows a calm approach to the rock music and i like the use of money and emotions of the baby. I feel the emotions expressed on album covers are the key to telling the story, no matter of the location. I dont like how the band name and album name is in the corner. It has less emphasis on it being an album cover, but on some levels this could work as a more clean cut band would see an album cover as a piece of artwork, but this does not resemble this band.



This Metal album for Death Magnetic by Metallica is the more recent in a long line of controversial and deviating artworks from the band. Previous albums such as their self titled album used a very dark setting with a similar style to the font, resulting in no one knowing who the album was from. This album uses a more three dimensional image. I especially like how the band font is in the centre of the image but doesnt take over or hide the image. I dont like how the font and the main part of the image is the same colour and style, as they all blend into one.



This album by the Maccabees uses a cartoon like feel to represent the style of the band. I don't like the similar colours used as they look very bland and unimaginative which is totally the oppposite image shown by the band. I like how the band name font matches the style of images, this has a greater sense of purpose and gives a more clean cut style. I dont like how the artwork doesn't give much away about the band, as i feel alot more held back on whether to relate to this band. Overall i feel the literal name of the album being represented in the imagery works well and that it is easy to see the influences and what the band are trying to do which compensates for the lack of knowledge about the band.



Bloc Party's album covers are notably complex and unique for their style of music. This example looks very simplistic but alot of detail and precision went into the editing. The use of darker lighting on the person on the right makes the audience feek that it is of a different gender to the person on the left. On the other hand this could resemble two women, which is still controversial even in todays society. I love how the image seems to be on two levels leaving a line of unified colour in the centre where the text is placed. I don't like how simplistic the image is and how the audience cant tell who is in the image. However this works well as we are left with questions, leaving us hungry for the answer possibly held in the album.




The Clash, London Calling is a remake of one of Elvis Presleys previous artworks. They have used the same colours and text so the audience can tell relate. This is unique as they have remade an album cover from a rock n roll genre to fit a punk style of band. The use of a smashing guitar fits the punk scene perfectly and shocks the audience, making them believe the band has no rules, enticing them into listening to this "aggresive" music. I especially like how the image is positioned in line with the text, it allows the more duller areas of the image to be filled with bright, contrasting text. I also like how their is something going on in the background as it adds a greater level of depth to the image, on the other hand this takes the focus away from the main person in the picture which in turn makes the image and style of the band hard to remember.



This album uses a train timetable effect for dramatic purposes to symbolise escapism and the capability to be free and not be confined to one place when your unhappy. The idea of using a common object with a twist works well as again more emphasis is drawn to the album name and band, as this is the only element we are not used to seeing. This again is a very simplistic design and works well for the style of the band. What i don't like about this print is that its very bland and doesn't stand out from similar bands. This will have consequences on sales which is what the artwork would be trying to boost.



This one of the more simplistic album covers. It uses a general landscape scene set in winter with the bands name and album title clearly displayed in the centre of the layout. What i especially like about this artwork, is that its very peacefull, all the colours used are similarly toned, yet the title stands out and we are left hoping for more. That is what a CD cover should do, it entices the audience into listening to the album. The font used for the band name and the album looks similar but in bold, this works well as the audience is drawn into the centre of the print and recognises that the name of the artist is significantly more important, especially for their debut album which is what we are trying to achieve.

The Likely Lads Twitter Account

In collaboration with creating our band profile, i have decided to create a twitter page. I have uploaded the picture which is in the frame of our music video as it gives off the positive image of the relationship between the lead singers. The use of a twitter page is important in todays music industry, as it allows a more personal approach for the band to interact with their fans. Most bands use twitter to promote an upcoming album or music video launch, while others use it to comment on their tour. Such as "Leicester was amazing last night, cant wait to come back again." The most famous music industry twitter accounts are Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. Jay Z responds to some of his fans tweets and comments on the trending topics which makes some form of unity so the fans feel they are on the same level as him.

Updated Storyboard

This my storyboard in relation to teacher and peer feedback.

Storyline but Simple

Wikipedia Page

I tried to create a wikipedia page for our band but it said it was unauthorized so for now i have pasted the info. onto here.

The Likely Lads are a Indie Rock band formed in 2006. Founded by Joe Cooper, originally as a weekend project with his class mates. They consist of Joe Cooper (Lead Vocals), Owain Anderson (Guitar), Jack Fox (Bass) and James Bale (Drummer) Their first single Cant Stand Me Now is set to huge hit. The accompanying video is set in Enderby in Leicestershire and is directed by Dan Miller and Maz Haynes. There most current album Last Of the English Roses is set to be released on the 12th December 2010.

== History ==
The band originally started in 2006 when both Joe and Owain attended band practise together, they recruited bassist Jack Fox from a local ad in the newspaper. They released a sample tape which they sent into Universal Music Group but to no avail. After years of struggling into small Pubs and Clubs and slowly building there loyal fan base, and producing low budget releases whenever possible. In October 2008 they recruited Georgy Moore to accompany Joe on the microphone and James Bale on drums. they hit it big with Cant Stand Me Now.

== Styles and Influences ==
Original influences came from The Libertines but as the band developed they drew influences from The View, The Arctic Monkeys, Pete and the Pirates and The Fratellis. The Likely Lads describe themselves as indie/rock/punk. With Joe Cooper in an interview with NME "i got my first taste of real music from The Smiths, the song This Charming Man was what kept me going throughout my tough childhood and led me to go to band practise that day where i met Owain"

== Band Members ==
Joe Cooper
Georgy Moore
Owain Anderson
Jack Fox
James Bale

== Awards ==
RADAR Award- NME Awards
Best upcoming band- Q awards

== Reviews ==
Their EP "I F**cking love the likely lads." recieved mainly positive reviews.
4 K's -Kerrang
4.5 -NME
3.5 -Q
4 -Rolling Stone

The View - Shock Horror

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz0db-uwN90

In response to teacher feedback and personal discussion between myself and Maz, we decided to analyse more music videos that are similar to our genre. I decided to choose this video as it represents a "dirty rock" style. All of the locations are grunge'y. The band look similar to what we are trying to show, this can come in handy as similar shots can be incorporated into our music video.

The video starts with a long shot of the lead singer but of the back of him, this gives the audience a sense of confusion as they do not know who it is? and why they are staring at a blank wall. In time with the music the camera switches to a close up vertical pan of the lead singer. The focus is on the eye line, which is pointing away from the camera, then the singer looks directly into the lens, this immediately grabs the audiences attention and feels close to the band.After this a close up and a mid shot of the same scene is shown, this shows the guitarist in his own personal world and then fitting into the scene, the same expression of the guitarists face in both shots shows that he is at peace with his environment. A close up of twiddling fingers and tattoos shows the remembrance of their past and that they are still firmly in touch with this. The drummer is then shown in a similar setting to both the singer and the guitarist. The use of twiddling fingers is used to show anticipation as this is the opening of the song. In the first 15 seconds of the video the audience is eager for the main beat to kick in and is aware that the band is close together even from a crooked past which would resemble the time between their last album and the current.

At 15 seconds it shows a voodoo doll hanging from the ceiling at a long shot. This is used to portray their past? a member of the band? this cuts straight to the member of the band, highlighting his eyes, this gives clear indication what he is staring at. At 23 seconds the camera zooms into the lead singer from a close up to an extreme close up on his lips as he is singing the song. The same process is repeated as in the first 15 seconds, by showing a member of the band in a distraught location and changing camera angles in time with the beat. After this has happened, a live performance is filmed. This is switched between continual footage of the lead singer but now the camera zooming out and the live performance. This is used to keep an element of continual action where the audience would feel at ease seeing a familiar location. This also allows to show a wide variety of events while keeping a structured storyline. Most of the individual guitar parts in the song are not portrayed with their instrument, when these instances occur the image is usually showing the voodoo doll and seeing what is going to happen in the near future. By not following the conventional rules, the video looks very rebellious.

The video uses lots of eye-line matches to keep a consistent visual rhythm between the band mates. Also the lighting is used especially well, the quick flashing lights resemble lighting. The lighting is focused on the band members and the wall at the back of the shot, this could be used to resemble a large gap between themselves and reality? or it could resemble the only two things with a solid structure.

The Pinnacle of the song is at 2:50 where the voodoo doll is smashed into a ball of smoke, this action is then repeated on the various locations previously used, this could aid the narrative by showing a domino effect as once one thing is broken, others quickly follow. After this event has happened all of the lighting is now red, to show a more deeper and fuller life element to their performance. Also now the guitar is dominant in both the audio and visual parts of the song. Once each member hits the voodoo doll, the other member explodes, which resembles each member accusing the other? or taking the anger out on each other.

Risk Assesment

I have created this risk assessment to give a clear outline of what could possibly gone wrong. Maz and I will use this when filming in collaboration with our storyboard, by using this it will make our filming schedule go more efficiently due to less little accidents which would need re-filming and possibly delayed filming. From this risk assessment i can see that none of our locations need to be altered as the most severe location is the street which can easily be a controlled environment. The majority of the problems faced are standard across all location e.g wires and fire hazards.

Filming Review

I found that filming went well with few problems. I started by filming Joe and Georgy's waking up scenes, however nobody else could get to my house early enough so we had to miss out the scenes of them looking on at a party. Luckily, once I started editing the footage I realised that we had more than enough and could incorporate flashbacks from the argument rather than a party. I had to film these parts alone as Dan didn't arrive till about 4 o clock, but I managed well and found they were both great to work with. Another minor problem was the mirror shots as I had to film slightly from the side, however it still worked well. Before the actors arrived I removed anything personal from the background of the shots to create the illusion that these were there bedrooms.





Once Dan and the other actors got there, we started to film the gig scenes in the evening. In the day I took 3 Union Jack flags, drums, bass, and guitars into the attic to set up. We also had empty bottles of alcohol for the band to drink from to make it more realistic and true to life. As well as Joe singing (and Georgy later in the song) my friends Jack, Owain, and Bale played bass, guitar and drums. I thought that having an all male band would be more like the Libertines and make Georgy stand out more when she came in. It also meant that we had an all female audience, which means that the men could be observed voyeuristically. I filmed the band playing the entire song from 3 angles, then filmed close ups of all of the instruments being played and each member, then the entire song and Georgy's entrance, then the entire song with Joe's harmonica at the end and close ups of him and Georgy singing together. This was to ensure we had more than enough footage and would had no trouble editing. Overall it was a long day but the footage looks really good and I can't wait to edit it properly, we had little trouble filming and were quite lucky in this respect.



(If nothing else, the pictures prove we had fun filming.)

Filming Photos

Indie

I have created this video using iMovie, i used a mash up of indie youtube clips, music clips and various transitions pre-installed on iMovie. I decided to make a video explaining the genre as indie is all about the aesthetics. This is a key concept i want to apply to my own video, as long as we represent the scene and the actors in a realistic environment then the audience will believe it.

The indie music scene bases itself around the guitar, pretty much every indie artist expresses their creativity with different guitars and varying chords. The Drums have their own individual sound based on their chords. Some bands do go against this convention such as the Arctic Monkeys who have an equal amount of the drum rhythm and chords, which works as a "question and answer" approach.

Audience

Untitled

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I have created this dual slide powerpoint to give a visual perspective of our audience. The audience profile slide shows how our target audience aren't likely to conform to society, but are likely to conform in their own common groups. This makes the beliefs, likes/dislikes and interests of their own group very powerful.

To create a model template i have used the character creator from Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, firstly because this has the outfits and style from the indie genre and secondly this film is one of the more modern forms of media to strongly appeal to our genre. I have made our typical age as 16-28 as at this age teenagers have much more access to social media, this helps to find out about unique bands and also to sample some of their music for free such as myspace music, spotify and itunes preview. Another reason why this age is important, is that many gigs sound more appealing, it offers a way for middle/late teenagers to socialise with band members typically there own age.

Common dislikes are generic fashion labels as i have put Henleys as an example. Most indie followers tend to look down on the mainstream music scene as it doesnt express individuality or creativity. Other dislikes include massively popular bands as they dont feel theyre in it for the music anymore.

Rough Trade Records

Rough Trades is an independent record label, started by Geoff Travis in 1978.

The label started from a record shop in west London, where the store grew into a record label and distribution business. It became independant from the shop in 1982 and went bankrupt in 1991. The brand we re-launched in 2000. The brand is specialised in European Pop-Punk.

Early signings include The Smiths, The Raincoats, Young Marble Giants and Scritti Politti.

More Recent signings include: The Strokes, The Libertines, Babyshambles and Belle and Sebastian

To Do List

- Band profile
- Band fanpage
- Actors photos
- Analyse band posters
- Analyse more videos/find ones similar to what we want to achieve

I will edit this as I think of more things that need to be done before we are finished. However things like the actor photos and band page/profile cannot be completed until after Wednesday because that's when I will take photographs of the actors together and seperately. In terms of the rest of the band I have a couple of people I've asked to play the instruments as they are musicians and can therefore play convincingly. However as they aren't as important as the two main actors I don't think I'll profile them seperately, I will however take some "band photographs" on Wednesday.

Filming Our Video

I have quite a clear idea of how I want our music video to be filmed and how it will look. Even though we are aiming for quite a simple minimalistic style, it still needs to be well planned and thought out. In the attic scenes whether for the gig or party I will move as much of the furniture as possible and make sure the bed is a bare mattress. I will cover the windows and have lamps everywhere as it's supposed to be nighttime, however when the boy is waking up I will use natural light as well as lamps for the lighting. There will be Union Jacks hanging up as this sets the mood and is something The Libertines have at their concerts. I will experiment with a shaky camera and Dutch angles to create a sense of uneasiness but also of excitement and of people moving about. In this way the shots will be from the point of view of the audience. I will put on the song when the band are meant to be playing or lip syncing so that they know to do it correctly to the music. However the rest of the time when people are just partying or dancing I will put on other music to get them in the mood. I think that to make these scenes successful I might have to film for a while to make sure people are relaxed and their acting doesn't look false. Another issue I could encounter is filming the shots that are in mirrors as myself and the camera could be visible. However, this isn't too much of a problem as I can stand slightly to the side as I did when taking location shots. Overall I think we will be successful and I have made plans which should overcome most potential issues, but fingers crossed!

Animoto

I put together an Animoto of our moodboard and all of our photos and ideas as I think it looks more effective than just posting the photos onto a blog. It's also more exciting to look at and was fun to create!

Costume - Georgy

On top I want her to either not wear a jacket at all, or a faux leather one that I have. Despite fitting in with the rock genre it's still quite feminine and this is the sort of look I want to achieve for Georgy


I think Georgy will wear either a plain black vest like the one pictured or a band t-shirt. Whilst I want her to look Indie/Rock I also want her to look very feminine and I think this is a good option as it shows her figure. However a band t shirt would make her look similar to Joe which would work. I think that I will get her to bring over a few options and as with Joe I will try shots with each outfit.



I think a bodycon skirt is a definite for Georgy's look to keep the Rock chic look rather than messy like Joe's look. It will define her femininity further and create a great image on video.


I contemplated with the idea of stilletos for Georgy's costume but decided that it would look too slutty. I instead opted for either these brogues or a pair of grey scruffy Fred Perry plims. I think the brogues would keep her looking feminine but the make up, hair and clothing does this anyway so we can afford to put plims or trainers on her feet and make it more masculine to show that she isn't just for display.


Overall with Georgy's look we want to make it feminine but still Indie/Rock enough so she doesn't look out of place in the band. I think her hair will be messy but her make up will be done properly as there's a scene where she applies it in the mirror. I think with make up she will have dark eyes and bright lips as this make up is a generic convention of women in rock.

Costume - Joe

Joe wears quite thick glasses anyway so I'm debating whether or not to ask him to wear them. It could look okay and demonstrate the Indie/Rock genre how we want to, or it could look tacky. We might try a few shots with and some without to see what looks best. He could also wear them hooked onto his tshirt for a less clean cut vibe.




I like the look Joe has anyway and this it's right for our music video. This is the sort of T-Shirt he would usually wear, I'll probably ask him to wear it under his jacket/shirt as this creates layers which is common with the Rock/Indie style.



I'm debating what to ask Joe to wear as a top layer currently, however I think for the look we want to create layering is necessary as it looks scruffy. Whilst a leather or denim jacket would look cool and make him look like a Rock singer, a checked shirt would appeal to the Indie scene. I think that I'll get him to bring over a few choice outfits on Wednesday and then we'll decide from there.



Joe will wear jeans rather than trousers or shorts. They will be rolled up and preferably ripped, again this adds to the rock image and makes him look a bit more scruffy rather than well groomed.


I think this style of boat shoes is perfect. They're simple and can be worn without socks to make him look even more messy which is exactly what we want. Even though the shoes won't necessarily be in shot, it's important to think about every minute detail of a shot.


With Joe's costume to keep the budget low I've thought about clothes that I know he already owns which would work in the music video. I've tried to keep a minimalistic, Indie look that looks scruffy and thrown together but at the same time well thought out. His hair will probably be simple and messy as we don't want him to look too groomed.

Feedback response.

From feedback we gained from our pitch and questionnaire we took a great deal of things into account when deciding what to put into the video and who to aim our music video at. Here are the things we took into account from the questions that our potential audience members answered:

1. Everyone who responded was between 16 and 21, for this reason we can assume that our audience will be within this age range. We will aim it at people of this age, more specifically students.

2. As equal members of both genders responded, we can assume that this type of video will appeal to both men and women. For this reason we can aim to make it gender neutral.

3. As many of people said they like this genre of music, we can proceed confidently knowing we will get a vast audience.

4. Similar to above, as many of the respondees said they like The Libertines (even if they aren't big fans) we can assume that this is a song that will appeal to many people. Therefore we can stick with this idea confidently.

5. All of our audience were into art, music, film and fashion. We can assume that they are creative and therefore we can try to make the video as arty and creative as possible to appeal to them.

6. As our audience thought it was tacky to show people using fake drugs, we decided to get rid of this idea and stick with the usage of alcohol as this doesn't look as bad. It also means we can appeal to more people as the content won't be as hardcore.

7. We decided to stick with our idea of creating an image and using performance as generally our audience liked this. However as half said they like plot and narrative we have kept a subtle element of this even if it isn't a comprehensive storyline.

8. Most of the responses said that they liked our idea, so we have stuck with it.

9. As above, as our audience think our idea is easily achievable we are sticking with it.

10. We are pleased that our audience thought our idea recreated The Libertines image as this is exactly what we wanted to do. For this reason again we are keeping this idea.

When creating and planning our video we will keep this feedback in mind at all times as our video will be created for our target audience, not ourselves. There are also a few minor decisions we have made and things we have tweaked or changed because of this feedback, as you can see from what I've written above.

Audience Feedback

Here is a printscreen of the questionnaire we sent out to people at random within our kind of age range, what we found from the people that actually responded(generally) was that:
1. Our audience would be between age 16 and 21
2. We had responses from nearly half of each gender, this was a good sign as we wanted our video to be gender neutral.
3. About 3/4 of the people who responded said that they enjoy this type of music.
4. Most of them said that they do like The Libertines, but none of them were huge fans which is a bit worrying as we want to appeal to them. However the majority of them do like this song.
5. The majority of people said that they were interested in film and music which is promising as this is what we expected. A few more said they are into art and fashion so we will also take this into account when creating our video.
6. Here our audience said that alcohol is okay and can look good, but fake drugs usually look tacky and out of place.
7. This answer was about 50/50 as people like a clear narrative in music videos, and usage of performance or abstract concepts. Many of them said that it depends entirely on the video and how it is used.
8. Most people said yes, however some people were unsure of our idea as we hadn't made it exactly clear at this point or in our pitch.
9. 100% said yes because we weren't looking to use many locations, expensive props, or complex editing skills.
10. 100% of people said yes we would successfully recreate The Libertines image, which was of course a promising sign.

Audience Profile

I just put together an audience profile on photoshop CS5 and MS paint using photos from lookbook.nu. I made the background and shrunk the photographs on CS5 and then put together the whole piece on paint as I found it easier than on photoshop. I believe the profile is gender neutral and directly reflects the type of people we want to appeal to with our video.

Actors

This is my friend Joe, who will be playing the male protagonist of our music video. This is a fairly old picture and I've planned to get together with both main actors early Wednesday morning in order to get photographs of them in costume and together. However from this photograph you can see that he has the look we want for our main character. His look seems thrown together, with messy hair and a denim jacket. I think we'll dress him slightly differently from this but it's similar to what we're aiming to achieve. As I am good friends with Joe and he is an actor and interested in media I believe it shouldn't be too difficult to work with him, also as he is friends with Georgy they should have a believable chemistry on camera and be comfortable around on another.




This is my friend Georgy, who will be playing the female protagonist in our music video. Again I will get better photographs of her in costume on Wednesday, but here we can see that she has a similar look to Joe. However, in the video we are aiming for a more feminine rock look with her to show that she is the opposite of Joe. She stepped in at the last minute when another friend dropped out and is very dependable so I look forward to working with her.

Moodboard

I chose to put together a moodboard on paper as I thought it would look more effective than one created on a computer. It also meant that I could stick headlines and parts of articles about Carl Barat and the Libertines from NME onto the page, which wouldn't be possible on the computer. I believe this moodboard really creates the image/mood that we are going for with this video. As well as pictures of The Libertines, articles, cigarettes, vodka and instruments; I have included photos of the instruments we are using and the settings we are using as this way it's possible to see how well our setting and props fit in with the genre we are aiming to recreate.

Lyrics Annotations

To help give me a better image in my head of how our video will look I decided to print out the lyrics and annotate ideas and what will happen at particular times. I also liked the idea of using medium outside of the computer to show my ideas.

Possible Band Names

Tapas?
Yale Campsite
Clubb Pentagram
CheckerBoard CheckerBoard
Topsider
Lounge Fire

I have chosen these band names as they represent the indie style. I have used an Indie Band Name Generator but the majority of the results found were either too random, didnt make sense or were too hard-core for the style of band we are trying to represent. From a survey involving students we found that Tapas? Was the most popular, but with only a small percentage lead.

36% Tapas?
33% Checkerboard Checkerboard
18% Lounge Fire
10% Yale Campsite
2% Topsider
1% Clubb Pentagram

We also included a box suggesting other names and linked words.

As the percentage wasn't significant between the top two we are not completely sure whether to use these names. From our other box we found names like patriotic, kingdom, soul, romance, heart, roses and conquer which are all traditional British/romantic words, which represents the narrative of our video.

Kingdom Hearts would be a good name for our band, the name is also a video game. This would also appeal to our target market as they grew up with these sort of games. After talking about this with fellow media students we felt that the name was too soft and childlike. Instead we decided to choose a name from a Libertines song, from the Libertines discography i came up with "Arbeit Macht Frei" which translates to work makes one free. "Death on the stairs" "Tell the King" or "What became of the likely lads". I chose the latter of the four. I then shortened this to The Likely Lads, as the majority of band names are short and snappy as they can be easily remembered backed up by George Miller a memory psychologist.

I feel the likely lads is an appropriate name as Georgy is in our band which would make the audience feel more engaged as the use of a female counteracts the meaning of the band. Also the name gives a vintage style to the band and represents them as trouble makers, which is the image myself and Maz are trying to show.

Location Shots

This is the acoustic guitar that we had considered using in our filming, however we realised that a red electric guitar we had looked much more beaten up and represented the rock image we were going for. Whilst the acoustic guitar is Indie, the attic scenes are meant to represent a more rock lifestyle.



This bed in my attic is essentially a mattress on the floor. I took the covers off it and messed it up to make it look much more grunge, as this was the style we were going for. I did this a few days before filming as I wanted to get as much of the mise-en-scene as possible perfect in advance.



This is the room off the attic where I plan to film the party scene as it is small and has no windows so artificial lighting can easily be used to create a party atmosphere. I set up 3 lamps and got the effect I want so this coupled with the futon and the tightness of the space means it is perfect for what we need. However I will move the clothes rail to make it look more genuine as a party space. If we film the argument here then when the audience sees the gig and party they will realise that Joe and Georgy were involved in some way.



This is the attic where we will film the scene where Joe wakes up, and the gig. I think this is an ideal space as it's big but also quite cramped which means we can fit everyone in but on camera it will look like a full concert. The window above the bed means we can sit Joe under it when he's meant to be waking up, but the amount of lamps means we can create a genuine gig atmosphere at night time too. The flags will be hung from the sloped ceiling to create the image and add to the mise-en-scene.


These are the stairs that Joe will walk down


This is the bathroom mirror where Joe will smoke in his morning. I thought this would represent his masculinity well as it's a bare bathroom and he isn't primping as Georgy is. However I will move the Spiderman toothpaste etc.



This is the drum kit we will be using, however I don't know as of yet if we'll use the whole thing due to space restrictons.



This will be the mirror where Georgy gets ready. I chose my room as it is the most feminine in the house and would show a sharp contrast with the attic, however I will probably move the cupcakes etc for a better view of the mirror when we film her in it.

Applying Theory to our Practical

I have had a go at applying the theory we have learnt in class to our music video, here is what I came up with:

Media Key Concepts - Our Video

Libertines Gigs

The libertines close fan base which they interact with regularly. By hosting Guerilla gigs which are regularly announced on the day, and are hosted in small venues such as pups or in one instance Pete Doherty's flat. The film Fuck the Police shot in 2003 by Anne McCloy captured one such gig at The Albion Rooms when the police raided and closed down an impromptu gig after complaints by irate neighbours.

Guerilla gigs are one of the Libertines most differentiating features, we have included our live gig scene as a guerilla gig. We have planned to try and capture the essence of a guerilla gig by using a small location (Maz's attic) amateur lighting (desk lights, house lamps) included a large audience for the size of location and by including specific props such as beer bottles by the drum set, flags hanging from the ceiling and finally by the band dressing in casual attire.

Location, Schedule, and Actors

Today I asked my friends Joe and Georgy to be the protagonists of the video as they have the look we are trying to achieve in the video and are good enough friends to get along and be comfortable acting together. I have asked them to come to mine before the rest of the actors next Wednesday so that I can choose their clothes, make up, film their scenes, and prepare them for the filming. I have also messaged about 15 of our friends and asked them to stay at mine for Wednesday/Thursday. I thought this was a good idea as it meant that we could get everything done, look it over, and add to it Thursday morning if necessary. It also means that we don't have to organise everybody again. After this we will edit and get our draft piece hopefully finished by the end of half term, if not the week afterwards.

In terms of location we had originally discussed some things that could have proved difficult. For example, using my house for some scenes, a cafe for others, a street, and somebody's house miles away. Today I have decided that the gig scenes and the girl's bedroom can filmed in my attic, the boys scene can be filmed either up there (so there is a place to come back to) or in another room which we can make look as bare as possible. Finally we will film the girls mirror scene in my bedroom as there is a feminine dressing table, this will contrast with the stark bathroom and make gender roles apparent. I will post photographs of actors and location as soon as possible!

Storyboard

Today during the lesson and at home I storyboarded our music video. The whole process took over 7 hours and this is a fairly brief storyboard containing just about 80 shots. However whilst filming we may choose to delete or insert shots, or may add to the storyboard if we get some inspiration. For this reason I chose to cut up the storyboard - this way I can add more if needs be, without messing about the whole thing. Whilst storyboarding I came up with a conclusive idea for the latter half. Whilst Dan wanted a complex scene involving the characters meeting in a cafe, I decided that to save us going to yet another location we should mirror the scene involving the boy in the first verse, but with the girl in a different location. I also decided that they should be band members, mirroring the song subject which is Pete Doherty and Carl Barat's troubled relationship. We will be creating enigma for our audience as they will want to know if the protagonists are in a romantic relationship, this will never be clarified. Within our video we wanted to create an image of the band, I believe that using mise-en-scene we will easily achieve this as we plan to have characters smoking, drinking, wearing tattered clothing, and taking fake drugs. However in the storyboard I chose to turn the mood of the song on it's head at the end as the band and fans are dancing and laughing as the song comes to a close. The video has a simple narrative, we see the protagonists arguing at the start, how he deals with it in a similar way to Pete Doherty - partying -, the morning after and him getting ready, him singing in the band and the fans dancing, how she deals with it - in the same way -, her morning after, the band again, her coming back, them singing together, him playing the harmonica solo, and everyone dancing together at the end. I chose this route as I thought it to be much more simple, achievable, and effective than a complex storyline.

Here is the full storyboard: (sorryaboutmyfeet)



And to prove just how much work I did:

Actions of the Band

This video was taken live at reading festival this year. I really like when Pete Doherty and Carl Barat go up the drummer to keep a constant beat, i feel this could be used at the very start of our video during the start of the instumental section. At 1:28 Carl Barats calm approach combined with the low angle shot works perfectly.



The above scene of Carl Barat is linked to this. Tom DeLonge looking into the audience and a moving low shot makes him look more powerful and that he isn't there to entertain but to work to his personal best. This can have negative consequences as he might not make a personal link to the audience.



I really like these set of shots, the close up of the guitar being played then to the singer works perfectly as they are working in harmony with eachother. I also like the length of the long shot of the singer, this gives time for the audience to interact with the singer and understand his expressions and movements to the song.



At the very start of this clip, Pete Doherty throws water onto the camera, this gives a punkish side to the video which i feel can be encorportated into the end of our video as a closing shot. This can be used as there is a ringing of the amps at the end of the song which can be used at the party where everyone stops jumping and then the band is in a relaxed position.



In this clip filmed at Top Of The Pops, i really like the constant eye contact between Doherty and Barat which brings the band closer together, on the other hand the bass player and drummer seem quite isolated from the two frontmen which can be a positive sign as then the focus if more intense on Doherty and Barat but it can be negative as the audience would feel the band has inner hatred and that it doesnt come across a positive performance.

Prop List

With our mise-en-scene we are aiming to create a mood and image of the Indie/rock scene. The room that we are filming in will be dirty, with a bare mattress in the corner and graffiti on the walls. We have already decided on a location for this bedroom as somebody we know has a room they are about to decorate and therefore they don't mind if we mess it up a bit. The room will be bare and therefore reminiscent of The Libertines' guerrilla gigs.



Mattress



Union Jacks



Guitar


Cigarettes



Vodka



Harmonica




Drums