This is just to say a massive thank you to everybody that made this music video possible.
Amy - Amy was our actor and she was amazing. She did that we asked her to do and never complained about it. Amy also wore clothes that are not suitable for this cold winter, so thank you for freezing for our video too.
Fiona - Fiona gave up her free time to come out and take photos for us. These photos are of the group filming and preparing to film. These are going to be used in our commentary to show our process of each day. Fiona also took professional photos of Amy posing and these are going to be used in our ancillary tasks.
Gene and Stan - These gave up their lovely home to us and were very welcoming to all of us. Their house was perfect for the grand setting we were looking for and are very grateful for letting and able to film at their house.
Parents - Finally, we would just like to say a big thank you to all our parents for giving us lifts throughout the three days and not complaining.
Friday 31 December 2010
All over
So this morning we went to a grand house to film our black and white section of our music video. This filming was at my neighbours parents house and we started at 10am. It was very important to us not to be late. This is because a couple are giving up their house for us and we have to consider their needs. To make sure none of our group got lost, we decided to meet at half 9 but as a few members were a little late, two of our parents kindly drove us down to the house so we arrived on time. After recovering from the shook of the house, we got on with filming.
The dolly took us a while to figure out how to use it but when we did we realised that the dolly would not fit between the piano and the furniture. As we didn't want to have to move too much of their furniture, we decided to work around the problem. As a solution, we took shots from many different angles of the actor playing the piano. Also, to help make this scene more interesting, we took many different shots of her, for example, by the fire place and by a rocking horse.
Overall, today was very successful and we got everything we needed to be done. Now our filming process is all complete, we have achieved things the we didn't even realise that we could do. We worked very well together and splitting our music video into seasons and two members of the group taking the lead in their set season, made our group work even better together and has given each member an even chance of directing and doing the camera work.
Well done all!
The dolly took us a while to figure out how to use it but when we did we realised that the dolly would not fit between the piano and the furniture. As we didn't want to have to move too much of their furniture, we decided to work around the problem. As a solution, we took shots from many different angles of the actor playing the piano. Also, to help make this scene more interesting, we took many different shots of her, for example, by the fire place and by a rocking horse.
Overall, today was very successful and we got everything we needed to be done. Now our filming process is all complete, we have achieved things the we didn't even realise that we could do. We worked very well together and splitting our music video into seasons and two members of the group taking the lead in their set season, made our group work even better together and has given each member an even chance of directing and doing the camera work.
Well done all!
Thursday 30 December 2010
Second day of filming
So today we were filming our second day at Ickworth park. This day was our Autumn and Winter seasons. To try and get the best weather possible of our winter season, we planned to meet at half 8 to catch the fog and frost before it disappeared later on in the day. This was the day in which Jade and myself took more control, however, we all had a say as we all need to make sure that we all like each different shot.
Due to a few members being late, we were able to start filming at half 9. This meant that we had less time to find a suitable location and was fighting against the weather. However, we took it in our stride and worked quickly but still to a high standard. For the Autumn part, we found a location in which showed many trees and leaves as this is what is associated which autumn. The winter season created a lot more problems. This is because we originally planned to film in the maze, however, the gates were shut and we were unable to film there. Walking around, we were then able to find a location that would suit the season. We found a large pond surrounded by fields and a few trees and the pond was frozen. This was a great find of a location and are very pleased we were able to find it. The trouble that later came was the lyrics that said "they made a statue of us". After trying to find a statue, we found that the gardens opened up by 11am and we were then able to go inside. However, the maze was closed due to "maintenance". To over come this problem, we just got our actor to stand against the house door and just sing these lines. This isn't what we all imagined, however, we had very little options left as all the statue's weren't accessible. Even though, some of the shots didn't go to plan, we worked with what we had and, after editing it and using special effects, it will look just as good and no one will be able to tell that some of the shots weren't how we planned it.
One of the main parts of our music video was make up and costumes as this was going to enhance our seasons. However, some of the costumes weren't how we planned it and this is the same with the make up. Some of this was due to the weather as it was very low temperatures so the actor needed to wear clothes that weren't planned as it was too cold for her not to wear them. The make up ideas didn't work and this was because the actor wasn't too keen on wearing some make up. As the actor is doing our group a massive favour we had to make sure she felt comfortable in what she was wearing and what she looked like otherwise this would have been been seen in her performance. This means that we would just have to adjust to our actors need and then work around that.
Before we even started filming, we all realised that there would be difficulties and step backs, however, we have over come them all so far and we still believe that they wont have effected our final music video at all.
Due to a few members being late, we were able to start filming at half 9. This meant that we had less time to find a suitable location and was fighting against the weather. However, we took it in our stride and worked quickly but still to a high standard. For the Autumn part, we found a location in which showed many trees and leaves as this is what is associated which autumn. The winter season created a lot more problems. This is because we originally planned to film in the maze, however, the gates were shut and we were unable to film there. Walking around, we were then able to find a location that would suit the season. We found a large pond surrounded by fields and a few trees and the pond was frozen. This was a great find of a location and are very pleased we were able to find it. The trouble that later came was the lyrics that said "they made a statue of us". After trying to find a statue, we found that the gardens opened up by 11am and we were then able to go inside. However, the maze was closed due to "maintenance". To over come this problem, we just got our actor to stand against the house door and just sing these lines. This isn't what we all imagined, however, we had very little options left as all the statue's weren't accessible. Even though, some of the shots didn't go to plan, we worked with what we had and, after editing it and using special effects, it will look just as good and no one will be able to tell that some of the shots weren't how we planned it.
One of the main parts of our music video was make up and costumes as this was going to enhance our seasons. However, some of the costumes weren't how we planned it and this is the same with the make up. Some of this was due to the weather as it was very low temperatures so the actor needed to wear clothes that weren't planned as it was too cold for her not to wear them. The make up ideas didn't work and this was because the actor wasn't too keen on wearing some make up. As the actor is doing our group a massive favour we had to make sure she felt comfortable in what she was wearing and what she looked like otherwise this would have been been seen in her performance. This means that we would just have to adjust to our actors need and then work around that.
Before we even started filming, we all realised that there would be difficulties and step backs, however, we have over come them all so far and we still believe that they wont have effected our final music video at all.
Wednesday 29 December 2010
First day of filming - Done
Well, today we finally got round to filming our Spring and Summer seasons. Initially we had planned to do these seasons, but then last night we saw the forecast and decided to change to Autumn and Winter, as the weather did not look particularly summer-y, but at the last minute, Jade rang up from Ickworth house to say that it looked sunny enough to switch back!
We arrived at about half past 11 (we had planned to meet at half past 10, but our actress was stuck in traffic) and although it looked a bit foggy, the weather seemed quite good. Setting up the camera was a bit of a challenge, but I think we managed quite well. You could immediately see the difference that the HD camera made to the normal camera, and we were all glad that we went to the extra effort to get hold of it. Amy looked really good, exactly how we had imagined (unlike some people, she actually looks nice on camera!) and Ickworth House looked amazing too. The only dowside of filming the Spring section at the front of the house was that there is scaffolding up at the moment, and an exhibition being advertised, and so we couldn't show the whole house, only the rotunda. However, we managed that quite well, I feel.
By this time, we had noticed that the battery was running low, only about a quarter power was left, but we thought that there was a spare battery, so we didn't worry. However, it wasn't until we were travelling from the front of the house to the back of the house that I checked the other battery and found it was flat. Luckily, we still had about half an hour of battery life left, so we decided to try and get all of Summer done - which we did. So all in all, a good days filming!
One last thing, I accidently took the camera charger home with me whilst Roisin took the camera, so I went back to her house a few hours ago to give it to her so we can film tomorrow without worrying!
We arrived at about half past 11 (we had planned to meet at half past 10, but our actress was stuck in traffic) and although it looked a bit foggy, the weather seemed quite good. Setting up the camera was a bit of a challenge, but I think we managed quite well. You could immediately see the difference that the HD camera made to the normal camera, and we were all glad that we went to the extra effort to get hold of it. Amy looked really good, exactly how we had imagined (unlike some people, she actually looks nice on camera!) and Ickworth House looked amazing too. The only dowside of filming the Spring section at the front of the house was that there is scaffolding up at the moment, and an exhibition being advertised, and so we couldn't show the whole house, only the rotunda. However, we managed that quite well, I feel.
By this time, we had noticed that the battery was running low, only about a quarter power was left, but we thought that there was a spare battery, so we didn't worry. However, it wasn't until we were travelling from the front of the house to the back of the house that I checked the other battery and found it was flat. Luckily, we still had about half an hour of battery life left, so we decided to try and get all of Summer done - which we did. So all in all, a good days filming!
One last thing, I accidently took the camera charger home with me whilst Roisin took the camera, so I went back to her house a few hours ago to give it to her so we can film tomorrow without worrying!
The weather
Before Christmas, all members of our group was worried about the filming for our music video. This is because the snow would mean that we wouldn't be able to film the seasons summer and spring. However, none of us expected the fog. This means that we are facing problems that we didn't see coming. For the winter, this isn't a problem and we can also get away with it for autumn. However, the fog is a serious problem for spring and summer.
After filming the more difficult seasons in this weather, we had to thin on our feet on what we can do to make it better. For spring, we filmed in front of the house and didn't do an extreme wide shot so the fog isn't noticeable. On the other hand, summer was a lot harder. To get the shots we wanted, we had to use the long shots as we wanted to include the beautiful setting of where we were filming it. The only way to beat the weather is to do some post production work on final cut to make it look more like summer.
Lets hope the weather turns out the way we need it for tomorrows seasons.
After filming the more difficult seasons in this weather, we had to thin on our feet on what we can do to make it better. For spring, we filmed in front of the house and didn't do an extreme wide shot so the fog isn't noticeable. On the other hand, summer was a lot harder. To get the shots we wanted, we had to use the long shots as we wanted to include the beautiful setting of where we were filming it. The only way to beat the weather is to do some post production work on final cut to make it look more like summer.
Lets hope the weather turns out the way we need it for tomorrows seasons.
Friday filming
Well after having the bad luck with Ickworth house being closed, we struck luck when Gene and Stan (my neighbours parents) offered to let us film in their house. We are filming in this location on the 31st and I said to them that we will film at anytime in which suits them as they are the one's who are giving up their house for a couple of hours. Therefore, we are meeting their and starting filming at 10am and we will be there for a couple of hours, depending on how quickly we get it all filmed.
Fiona Waugh - Our resident Photographer
As we have chosen the digipak for one of our ancillary tasks, we wanted to ensure that a large selection of quality photographs were taken of Amy during the different 'seasons'. Therefore, we decided to enlist the help of Fiona, a fellow Thurston student who aims to take a degree in photography next year.
We are also looking for an outstanding image to become our motif that will tie all 3 final products together and felt that this would be produced more effectively by someone who knew exactly what they were doing and the concepts/framings that would be most striking and dynamic.
Unfortunately, Fiona was unable to attend the Spring/Summer shoot today. However, she will be joining us for filming on both Thursday and Friday; in which we should hopefully be able to create THE perfect photograph.
We are also looking for an outstanding image to become our motif that will tie all 3 final products together and felt that this would be produced more effectively by someone who knew exactly what they were doing and the concepts/framings that would be most striking and dynamic.
Unfortunately, Fiona was unable to attend the Spring/Summer shoot today. However, she will be joining us for filming on both Thursday and Friday; in which we should hopefully be able to create THE perfect photograph.
First Shoot...Spring and Summer
Although all a little worried when we saw the weather forcast this morning, the worst of the thick fog managed to thin out and clear during our shoot, so it didn't effect the footage in any dramatic way. Infact, it created a very interesting and calm atmosphere that suited Spring beautifully. Despite Summer looking a tad dull and grey on camera, we plan to manipulate colour contrasts in the editing process to pick out the hints of blue in the sky and make it more prominant (further experimentation with final cut will reveal the methods in which to do this).
The footage captured today was extremely successful. I am really pleased that we selected Ickworth Park as our setting, it was definitely the right decision. The house and gardens bring so much character and beauty into the frames, as well as matching the style of our song to a 'T'.
The house pocessed a particularly dynamic and powerful presence in the long shot (summer sequence) where Amy appears from behind the shaped trees/bushes; all the more emphasised by the rolling swells of fog.
Our actress, Amy, was brilliant! She really took to the role and was great at conveying the delicate balance between a strong and vulnerable performance; something I think our female target audience will appreciate and relate to. At least for tomorrow's shoot, the costumes are more apt for the weather!
Both myself and Gemma managed to take an array of production photographs which document our progress through the shoot (from the halogen light, to walk throughs, to filming). These will become very helpful when we begin to put together our evaluation.
Roisin also managed - with her very shiny, new hightech camera - to take some 'professional portraits' of Amy in various locations about the set, which we plan to include in our digipak.
I think we were all taken aback at the quality produced by the HD camera. Our theme means we have to focus on very subtle, yet very significant, details to determine a transition through the seasons. From what I have seen so far, the camera is going to provide us with these shots perfectly.
Well done for braving the cold everyone, I can't wait to jump back in it tomorrow for the Autumn/Winter shoot!
The footage captured today was extremely successful. I am really pleased that we selected Ickworth Park as our setting, it was definitely the right decision. The house and gardens bring so much character and beauty into the frames, as well as matching the style of our song to a 'T'.
The house pocessed a particularly dynamic and powerful presence in the long shot (summer sequence) where Amy appears from behind the shaped trees/bushes; all the more emphasised by the rolling swells of fog.
Our actress, Amy, was brilliant! She really took to the role and was great at conveying the delicate balance between a strong and vulnerable performance; something I think our female target audience will appreciate and relate to. At least for tomorrow's shoot, the costumes are more apt for the weather!
Both myself and Gemma managed to take an array of production photographs which document our progress through the shoot (from the halogen light, to walk throughs, to filming). These will become very helpful when we begin to put together our evaluation.
Roisin also managed - with her very shiny, new hightech camera - to take some 'professional portraits' of Amy in various locations about the set, which we plan to include in our digipak.
I think we were all taken aback at the quality produced by the HD camera. Our theme means we have to focus on very subtle, yet very significant, details to determine a transition through the seasons. From what I have seen so far, the camera is going to provide us with these shots perfectly.
Well done for braving the cold everyone, I can't wait to jump back in it tomorrow for the Autumn/Winter shoot!
Tuesday 28 December 2010
The weather forecast
The weather forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday - It's pretty bleak! Fog/100% humidity all day, dubbed very poor visibility, top temperature=6 degrees.
Thursday - Is pretty much the same as Wednesday but a couple of degrees colder and drizzlier.
Looking at this weather, we will be best to do Summer and Spring on Wednesday the 29th and Autumn and Winter on Thursday the 30th.
Wednesday - It's pretty bleak! Fog/100% humidity all day, dubbed very poor visibility, top temperature=6 degrees.
Thursday - Is pretty much the same as Wednesday but a couple of degrees colder and drizzlier.
Looking at this weather, we will be best to do Summer and Spring on Wednesday the 29th and Autumn and Winter on Thursday the 30th.
Filming Schedual
It's our first of three shooting days tomorrow and I think I speak for everyone when I say how excited we are that the date has finally arrived!
Luckily, the hand-over of all the neccesary equipment has been completed so we are fully prepared for tomorrow's tasks.
Today we certified the specific shooting times which are as follows:
Luckily, the hand-over of all the neccesary equipment has been completed so we are fully prepared for tomorrow's tasks.
Today we certified the specific shooting times which are as follows:
- Wednesday 29th - Ickworth Park - 11:00 until 3:00, possibly 4:00 if we want to capture dusk shots. We feel this time frame will provide the flexible lighting wanted for seasons, Spring and Summer. Being their designated seasons, Roisin and Rachel will take a more dominant role in the framing and shooting of these sequences.
- Thursday 30th - Ickworth Park - 9:00 until 2:00, possibly even an 8:00/8:30 start if the prospect of catching a thick frost was essential. A greater time slot was needed here as the transition of make-up and costume for Autumn/Winter is far more dramatic and complex than Spring/Summer. Being our designated season, Gemma and I will take a more dominant role in the framing and shooting of these sequences.
- Friday 31st - Thurston House - Time to be definitively set tomorrow after final confirmation from house owners - Here, every member of the group will have an equally prominant directing role. This is the sequence that requires the use of the dolly.
Monday 27 December 2010
Getting Equipment
As you might be aware, this Wednesday (less than 2 days time) we are starting to film!! It seems very soon, but luckily, we have had the time to plan very extensively, and so we all feel very prepared. However, there are still some very important things that we still need, for example, the tripod and the dolly!
We weren't aware until the last day of term, but another group (in the other class) needed the HD camera as well as us, and so we weren't able to take it straight from school, and we needed to work out with Sarah and Danni getting hold of everything. They needed basically all the equipment that we wanted, the camera, the dolly and the tripod, and originally Gemma was going to get all of the equipment from Sarah, who lives near her. However, whilst Gemma has the camera, the tripod and dolly are still with Danni and so I am hopefully going to collect them tomorrow.
Also, tomorrow I need to test out the 500W light that my step-dad has, to make sure that it will be suitable to light the outdoor set that we are going to use. Luckily the light has a generator that should work with it, so we don't need to worry about finding a power source or anything (which would prove very difficult as Ickworth House is shut this week). So basically, as long as I can get hold of the equipment tomorrow, we should be set!
Friday 24 December 2010
Costumes
Here are some 'mood boards' that our group made to show the ideas we have had for the different seasons of our video, including the indoor scene that we are now going to shoot in Gemma's next door neighbour's parent's house. As you can see, some of the seasons have more specific detail in, whilst others are more of a general idea (eg Summer). However, we have already decided the exact detail of what Amy will be wearing, and so this basically just sums up our ideas. Enjoy!
Wednesday 22 December 2010
Copyright Permission
We recently found out that we need to ask the record company in charge of Regina Spektor's music for permission to use the song we are planning to use for our video. So I found WMG's website and sent them the email you can see above. Hopefully they will reply saying 'yes', otherwise I don't quite know what we will do!
Monday 20 December 2010
HD camera
The first of the equipment has been handed over. Sarah, the group before us who had it, dropped of the HD camera to myself today. However, the other group member, had the dolly and the tripod. Sarah has had trouble getting hold of Danni. This then means that we have just over a week to be able to get the rest of the equipment before we are able to begin filming.
Fingers cross to be able to get the equipments
Wednesday 15 December 2010
Organisation for us all
During Mondays lesson, we sat down as a group to write a list of what costumes we will need for each season. On top of this, we then decided that next to each item of clothes, we need to know who has got it and who's responsibility it will be to bring that on the correct day.
Key:
A = Amy
J = Jade
G = Gemma
Ra = Rachel
Ro = Roisin
Spring
- White flower dress = A
- Grey tights = Ra
- Flowers for hair = Ro + G
- Brogues = Ra
- Pink lipstick
- Pink eyeshadow
- Pink nails
Summer
- Pink dress = Ra
- Brogues = Ra
- Flowers =Ro + G
- Red nail vanish
- Red lipstick
- Black eye liner
Autumn
- Wellies = Ra
- Brown top = Ro
- Cardigan = Ro
- Black leggings = Ro
- Black hat = Ro
- Berry lipstick
- Brown eye liner/eye shadow
- Purple mail vanish
Winter
- White scarf = J
- Pink coat = J
- White gloves = G
- Grey leggings = Ra
- Wellies = Ra
- Blue gems = G
- Blue eye shadow
- White eye liner
- White lipstick
- White nail vanish
Inside
- Mask = J
- Black dress = Ra + Ro
- Black tights = we all have them
- Black high heels = Ra + Ro
- Black nail vanish
- Red lipstick
Please note: there is no names next to the make up because it is likely that we will all have them so if we find there are some items in which we didn't have between us all, we will then go out and buy it.
Key:
A = Amy
J = Jade
G = Gemma
Ra = Rachel
Ro = Roisin
Spring
- White flower dress = A
- Grey tights = Ra
- Flowers for hair = Ro + G
- Brogues = Ra
- Pink lipstick
- Pink eyeshadow
- Pink nails
Summer
- Pink dress = Ra
- Brogues = Ra
- Flowers =Ro + G
- Red nail vanish
- Red lipstick
- Black eye liner
Autumn
- Wellies = Ra
- Brown top = Ro
- Cardigan = Ro
- Black leggings = Ro
- Black hat = Ro
- Berry lipstick
- Brown eye liner/eye shadow
- Purple mail vanish
Winter
- White scarf = J
- Pink coat = J
- White gloves = G
- Grey leggings = Ra
- Wellies = Ra
- Blue gems = G
- Blue eye shadow
- White eye liner
- White lipstick
- White nail vanish
Inside
- Mask = J
- Black dress = Ra + Ro
- Black tights = we all have them
- Black high heels = Ra + Ro
- Black nail vanish
- Red lipstick
Please note: there is no names next to the make up because it is likely that we will all have them so if we find there are some items in which we didn't have between us all, we will then go out and buy it.
Thursday 9 December 2010
Finally Some Good News
Earlier today we got some bad news when we found out we wouldn't be able to film inside Ickworth house as they are closed, however, we are able to film in the gardens and surrounding area. My next door neighbour has a piano and so do her parents. They have both said yes to us being able to film there in the dates we have set ourselves.
My neighbours have a piano (not a grand one) and she says that her parents also have a piano but I don't no how big it his, however, their house is very grand. This means that we have two locations in which we can film at. Now its just up to us as a team to decide what we want.
However, overall, very good news. We are now back on track.
My neighbours have a piano (not a grand one) and she says that her parents also have a piano but I don't no how big it his, however, their house is very grand. This means that we have two locations in which we can film at. Now its just up to us as a team to decide what we want.
However, overall, very good news. We are now back on track.
Final Cut
Final cut is known to be hard and as it is knew to us all, here is a youtube embed of how to us it. However, please note that this is only for basic editing but it is the best place to start.
Storyboard
Today we finally managed to get round to making our video-storyboard, which, I think you will agree, looks quite good really! By doing this, we got a basic idea of what our video will hopefully look like. We made the video on Final Cut, so we got to know the basic layout of how to use it (surprisingly, it isn't actually as complicated as it first appears!)
The still shot of our actress playing the piano whilst the chorus plays will not actually be still, because, as you can see, it goes on for a very long time! Instead, we will try and pan around the piano whilst she plays, creating some visual interest. However, we did encounter a slight problem today with regards to the piano - Ickworth House (where we are planning to film) will be closed when we film, so the indoor scenes with the piano will have to be filmed somewhere else.
Update 24/12/10: I uploaded the video to YouTube to then embed on here, but within a day the soundtrack had been removed due to copyright infringement, therefore defeating the purpose of making the whole thing, so I have now tried using Vimeo, which will hopefully let us keep the music on there!
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Background
Here is a little background on our chosen song singer – Regina Spektor.
• Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist born in 1980, February 18.
• Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.
• Spektor was born in Moscow to a musical Russian Jewish family.
• Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist.
• Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Russian college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.
• She has a brother Barry (who was referred to as Bear), who was featured in track 7, "Whisper", of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch.
• She learned how to play piano by practicing on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather.
• She was exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father
• In New York, Spektor studied classical piano with Sonia Vargas.
• Spektor was originally interested only in classical music, but later became interested in hip hop, rock and punk as well.
• She wrote her first a cappella songs around age sixteen and her first songs for voice and piano when she was nearly 18.
• Spektor completed the four-year studio composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College within three years, graduating with honors in 2001.
• Around this time, she also worked briefly at a butterfly farm in Luck, Wisconsin [9], and studied in Tottenham, England for one semester.
• She gradually achieved recognition through performances in the anti-folk scene in downtown New York City, most importantly at the East Village's Sidewalk Cafe, but also at the Living Room, Tonic, Fez, the Knitting Factory, and CB's Gallery.
• She performed at local colleges with other musicians, including the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.
• She sold self-published CDs at her performances during this period: and Songs.
• In 2004, she signed a contract with Warner Brothers' record label Sire Records to publish and distribute her third album Soviet Kitsch, originally self-released in 2003.
Her Style
• Spektor has said that she has created a great number of songs, but that she rarely writes any of them down.
• She has also stated that she never aspired to write songs herself, but songs seem to just flow to her.
• Spektor's songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination and her songs show influences from folk, punk, rock, Jewish, Russian, hip hop, jazz, and classical music.
• Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.
• Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair.
• Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization.
• Her lyrics are equally eclectic, often taking the form of abstract narratives or first-person character studies, similar to short stories or vignettes put to song.
• Spektor usually sings in English, though she sometimes includes a few words or verses of Latin, Russian, French, and other languages in her songs. She also plays with pronunciations.
• In her songs, "Eet", "Us" and "Après Moi" the titular sounds are used as the focal point throughout.
Awards
• Begin to Hope – Shortlist Music Prize (nominated)
• Studio8's Female Voice of August 2009 (won)
• Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Artist of the Year Act Alternative (won)
• Far – Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Album Alternative of the Year (won)
• "Laughing With" – Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Alternative Song (nominated)
• Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist born in 1980, February 18.
• Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.
• Spektor was born in Moscow to a musical Russian Jewish family.
• Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist.
• Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Russian college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.
• She has a brother Barry (who was referred to as Bear), who was featured in track 7, "Whisper", of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch.
• She learned how to play piano by practicing on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather.
• She was exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father
• In New York, Spektor studied classical piano with Sonia Vargas.
• Spektor was originally interested only in classical music, but later became interested in hip hop, rock and punk as well.
• She wrote her first a cappella songs around age sixteen and her first songs for voice and piano when she was nearly 18.
• Spektor completed the four-year studio composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College within three years, graduating with honors in 2001.
• Around this time, she also worked briefly at a butterfly farm in Luck, Wisconsin [9], and studied in Tottenham, England for one semester.
• She gradually achieved recognition through performances in the anti-folk scene in downtown New York City, most importantly at the East Village's Sidewalk Cafe, but also at the Living Room, Tonic, Fez, the Knitting Factory, and CB's Gallery.
• She performed at local colleges with other musicians, including the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.
• She sold self-published CDs at her performances during this period: and Songs.
• In 2004, she signed a contract with Warner Brothers' record label Sire Records to publish and distribute her third album Soviet Kitsch, originally self-released in 2003.
Her Style
• Spektor has said that she has created a great number of songs, but that she rarely writes any of them down.
• She has also stated that she never aspired to write songs herself, but songs seem to just flow to her.
• Spektor's songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination and her songs show influences from folk, punk, rock, Jewish, Russian, hip hop, jazz, and classical music.
• Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.
• Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair.
• Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization.
• Her lyrics are equally eclectic, often taking the form of abstract narratives or first-person character studies, similar to short stories or vignettes put to song.
• Spektor usually sings in English, though she sometimes includes a few words or verses of Latin, Russian, French, and other languages in her songs. She also plays with pronunciations.
• In her songs, "Eet", "Us" and "Après Moi" the titular sounds are used as the focal point throughout.
Awards
• Begin to Hope – Shortlist Music Prize (nominated)
• Studio8's Female Voice of August 2009 (won)
• Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Artist of the Year Act Alternative (won)
• Far – Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Album Alternative of the Year (won)
• "Laughing With" – Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Alternative Song (nominated)
Sunday 5 December 2010
Just dropping in...
Hello faithful followers and fellow team bloggers, I just wanted to apologise for the lack of posts from me as of late!! Art course work and exam preparation has curtailed the amount of time I have to spend on here recently but I promise I'll be back to typing at my normal busy rate very soon.
As for our progress so far I am very very HAPPY!!
We have crafted a good, solid idea and know exactly what we want to shoot on each specific filming date (after the fiasco of last year's 'footage panic', I think this level of meticulous planning and organising is something we will swear to this time around!)
Visions of sets and costumes for each season are also coming together well. We spent a good amount of time and effort in creating mood boards (which should be uploaded soon) to identify 'looks' that would compliment both the theme and genre of the song. With a female target audience, detail in this aspect of production is paramount!!
Our ancillary tasks are also progressing well. Although still in their infancy stages of construction, I think we have a clear idea of the overall motif/theme/finish we are striving for, and knowing us, we work continuously until we achieve it.
All in all, we are exactly on schedual and heading towards success (we just hope and pray the weather works with us for once!)
WELL DONE TEAM!
As for our progress so far I am very very HAPPY!!
We have crafted a good, solid idea and know exactly what we want to shoot on each specific filming date (after the fiasco of last year's 'footage panic', I think this level of meticulous planning and organising is something we will swear to this time around!)
Visions of sets and costumes for each season are also coming together well. We spent a good amount of time and effort in creating mood boards (which should be uploaded soon) to identify 'looks' that would compliment both the theme and genre of the song. With a female target audience, detail in this aspect of production is paramount!!
Our ancillary tasks are also progressing well. Although still in their infancy stages of construction, I think we have a clear idea of the overall motif/theme/finish we are striving for, and knowing us, we work continuously until we achieve it.
All in all, we are exactly on schedual and heading towards success (we just hope and pray the weather works with us for once!)
WELL DONE TEAM!
Thursday 2 December 2010
Snow = Plan B
With filming in winter, we always knew that there may be weather complications. As our music video is based on the idea of the seasons theme and this is also our narrative, therefore, with the weather that is happening at the moment means we need a plan B just in case this is the weather on the days in which we are filming. We need this plan B because 2 members in our group would really like a performance based video and the other 2 would like a narrative. The way we get to have both in our video is by having our actor perform the song and the seasons in a chronological order is our narrative. To help keep the narrative during this weather means we need extra planning.
Doing winter in the clod or in the snow will be easy as that is what you expect in the winter. We also have the plan for summer of filming a low angle shot of the actor and the sun. For the autumn, if there is still snow, we will shove the snow out of the way and we are now starting collecting leaves as after Christmas there will be little amount of leaves. For the spring, we were planning to film by the house, therefore, if we don't show any of the grounds, we can just scoop of the snow from the window ledges.
Location Permission
Although we have already sent an email to Ickworth House asking for permission to film there, they have not yet replied, so today we called them to see if it would be possible to shoot there around Christmas. Unfortunately, the person we needed to speak to was stuck in the snow, so they have taken down our names and will hopefully get back to us before the middle of next week.
So, hopefully we will soon know if we are allowed to film in our ideal location or not (if we are lucky, they will say yes!)
So, hopefully we will soon know if we are allowed to film in our ideal location or not (if we are lucky, they will say yes!)
Self Evaluation
Today we had to carry out a group evaluation of our research and planning effort so far. We marked ourselves as follows, and the reasons why:
Level 3
Organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props. This is because we have not as yet blogged our moodboards/costume designs, but the rest we have organised already.
Shot lists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding. This is because we haven't animated our storyboard yet, but we will hopefully do this next week when the internet is back on the Macs.
Time management. This is because although everything is in chronological order and we consistently meet deadlines, there is still a minimal amount of research and planning to do.
Level 4
Research into similar products and a potential target audience. This is because we have extensively done director studies, textual analysis of both professional and student work and gone above and beyond what was required of our group.
Presentation of research and planning. This is because our blog has been backdated to appear in chronological order to make it easier to read. We also have a nice, clean look to our blog that makes it look more professional.
Excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation. This is because we have used vast amounts of images, embedded videos, polls and links to social networking sites such as Facebook to good effect.
Excellent communication skills. This is because our blog is easy to read and we use an easy to read format, and the pictures etc make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Level 3
Organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props. This is because we have not as yet blogged our moodboards/costume designs, but the rest we have organised already.
Shot lists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding. This is because we haven't animated our storyboard yet, but we will hopefully do this next week when the internet is back on the Macs.
Time management. This is because although everything is in chronological order and we consistently meet deadlines, there is still a minimal amount of research and planning to do.
Level 4
Research into similar products and a potential target audience. This is because we have extensively done director studies, textual analysis of both professional and student work and gone above and beyond what was required of our group.
Presentation of research and planning. This is because our blog has been backdated to appear in chronological order to make it easier to read. We also have a nice, clean look to our blog that makes it look more professional.
Excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation. This is because we have used vast amounts of images, embedded videos, polls and links to social networking sites such as Facebook to good effect.
Excellent communication skills. This is because our blog is easy to read and we use an easy to read format, and the pictures etc make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Ancillary Task Preliminal Ideas
On Monday, we had basically finished our preliminary planning for the actual video, and so we decided to get down some basic ideas for our ancillary tasks - a digipack and webpage. What is seen here are some basic ideas that we brain stormed in the lesson. As you can see, most of our ideas are what is conventional in the industry - no boundary pushing here!
What will make doing/starting our ancillary tasks before we film our video is that a lot of the images and footage we want to use in these tasks have not been taken yet! However, what we can do is the basic HTML for the webpage and set everything up etc, and plan where to put the images in the digipack, which will make all our lives much easier when it comes to after we have filmed and we really need to put all our effort into editing the video. Also, we can choose the font and do all the basic stuff like that for the digipack in these next few weeks, as well as properly finalising every detail of the shoot to make our lives much, much easier when it comes down to it.
Sunday 28 November 2010
Planning process is done
Our date in which we had to finish all planning and research was Friday the 26th and that date has come and gone. Even though, we didn't have a lot of time to do all of the planning and audience research, we worked together and divided up our work evenly, and with helping each other and working to our own tight deadlines, we have finally finished.
After you finish the planning and research, you are allowed to start filming. However, due to having no time in our busy lives until Christmas holidays, as a group, we have decided to start our website and digipack. This will mean that it will all be done and we will just have to hand in our our pictures that we will take when we are filming and this way, we can concentrate on just doing our editing as know that this is the part that takes the longest.
After you finish the planning and research, you are allowed to start filming. However, due to having no time in our busy lives until Christmas holidays, as a group, we have decided to start our website and digipack. This will mean that it will all be done and we will just have to hand in our our pictures that we will take when we are filming and this way, we can concentrate on just doing our editing as know that this is the part that takes the longest.
Our final shot list
A shot list has been up here before, however, this is the shot list and this is what will be going with us to our filming days.
Inside - black and white
Shot 1 - mid shot/still shot - actor is playing the piano - we will need a black dress, piano, make up for that scene, inside the house
Shot 2/3 - mid shot - shot of just the actor playing the piano - will need the same as shot 1
Shot 4 - mid shot - shot of just actor playing the piano - will need the same as shot 1
Spring
Shot 5 - close up/still shot - actor standing still singing - outside the house, pink dress, straight hair, pale make up
Shot 6 - mid shot/still shot - same as shot 5 - we will need the same as shot 5
Shot 7 - long shot/still shot - same as shot 5 - we need the same as shot 5
Shot 8 - mid shot - an actor blowing a bubble with bubble gum - we need the same as shot 5 and bubble gum
Shot 9 - mid shot - actor taking a photo - we need the same as shot 5 and a camera
Vary of seasons
Shot 10 - a collection of pans and stills, with a collection of actions, with a collection of locations
Summer
Shot 11 - long shot - actor running out of the tree's - outside, bright coloured clothed
Shot 12 - long shot (closer than shot 11) - actor running out of tree's - same as shot 11
Shot 13 - long shot (closer than shot 12) - actor running and appearing behind a tree - same as shot 11
Shot 14 - long shot (closer than shot 13) - actor running and appearing behind a tree - same as shot 11
Shot 15 - close up - actor singing - same as shot 11
Inside - black and white
Shot 16 - dolly shot - dolly shot around the piano while the actor is playing - black dress, inside the house, piano, dolly
Shot 17 - long shot/mid shot - actor sitting on the stairs while singing - black dress, inside the house on the stairs
Autumn
Shot 18 - tracking shot - actor walking through the tree's - peach/brown clothes, scarf, curly hair, leaves
Shot 19 - close up - actor leaning against the tree (close up of half of actors face and other half of the tree) - same as shot 18
Shot 20 - close up of hand - close up of hand on leaves - same as shot 18
Shot 21 - mid shot - actor standing between tree's singing - same as shot 18
Inside - black and white
Shot 22 - same as shot 16
Shot 23 - mid shot - actor leaning against the wall singing - black dress, outside the house
Vary of seasons
Shots 24 -a collection of pans and stills, with a collection of actions and with a collection of locations
Winter
Shot 25 - mid shot - actor singing to statue - curly hair, whiter clothes/make up, statue, outside
Shot 26 - close up - actor lying on the grass singing - outside the maze, blue eyes with gems, curly hair, white clothes
Shot 27 - mid shot - same as shot 26 - same as shot 26
Shot 28 - mid shot - actor singing to statue - same as shots 25/26
Shot 29 - close up - still shot of spider web with actor behind it - same as shot 26 and spider web
Inside - black and white
Shot 30 - same at shot 16
Spring
Shot 31 - close up of a random shot from the season of spring
Summer
Shot 32 - close up of a random shot from the season of summer
Autumn
Shot 33 - close up of a random shot from the season of autumn
Winter
Shot 34 - close up of a random shot from the season of winter
Inside - black and white
Shot 1 - mid shot/still shot - actor is playing the piano - we will need a black dress, piano, make up for that scene, inside the house
Shot 2/3 - mid shot - shot of just the actor playing the piano - will need the same as shot 1
Shot 4 - mid shot - shot of just actor playing the piano - will need the same as shot 1
Spring
Shot 5 - close up/still shot - actor standing still singing - outside the house, pink dress, straight hair, pale make up
Shot 6 - mid shot/still shot - same as shot 5 - we will need the same as shot 5
Shot 7 - long shot/still shot - same as shot 5 - we need the same as shot 5
Shot 8 - mid shot - an actor blowing a bubble with bubble gum - we need the same as shot 5 and bubble gum
Shot 9 - mid shot - actor taking a photo - we need the same as shot 5 and a camera
Vary of seasons
Shot 10 - a collection of pans and stills, with a collection of actions, with a collection of locations
Summer
Shot 11 - long shot - actor running out of the tree's - outside, bright coloured clothed
Shot 12 - long shot (closer than shot 11) - actor running out of tree's - same as shot 11
Shot 13 - long shot (closer than shot 12) - actor running and appearing behind a tree - same as shot 11
Shot 14 - long shot (closer than shot 13) - actor running and appearing behind a tree - same as shot 11
Shot 15 - close up - actor singing - same as shot 11
Inside - black and white
Shot 16 - dolly shot - dolly shot around the piano while the actor is playing - black dress, inside the house, piano, dolly
Shot 17 - long shot/mid shot - actor sitting on the stairs while singing - black dress, inside the house on the stairs
Autumn
Shot 18 - tracking shot - actor walking through the tree's - peach/brown clothes, scarf, curly hair, leaves
Shot 19 - close up - actor leaning against the tree (close up of half of actors face and other half of the tree) - same as shot 18
Shot 20 - close up of hand - close up of hand on leaves - same as shot 18
Shot 21 - mid shot - actor standing between tree's singing - same as shot 18
Inside - black and white
Shot 22 - same as shot 16
Shot 23 - mid shot - actor leaning against the wall singing - black dress, outside the house
Vary of seasons
Shots 24 -a collection of pans and stills, with a collection of actions and with a collection of locations
Winter
Shot 25 - mid shot - actor singing to statue - curly hair, whiter clothes/make up, statue, outside
Shot 26 - close up - actor lying on the grass singing - outside the maze, blue eyes with gems, curly hair, white clothes
Shot 27 - mid shot - same as shot 26 - same as shot 26
Shot 28 - mid shot - actor singing to statue - same as shots 25/26
Shot 29 - close up - still shot of spider web with actor behind it - same as shot 26 and spider web
Inside - black and white
Shot 30 - same at shot 16
Spring
Shot 31 - close up of a random shot from the season of spring
Summer
Shot 32 - close up of a random shot from the season of summer
Autumn
Shot 33 - close up of a random shot from the season of autumn
Winter
Shot 34 - close up of a random shot from the season of winter
Friday 26 November 2010
Location
We have decided to film our music video in Ickworth House and Gardens. We have emailed them asking for permission to film as well as a brief description of their interiors and are currently waiting for their reply.
Here is a general view of the area we are hoping to film...
Here is a general view of the area we are hoping to film...
During our storyboarding process we always had Ickworth House in mind; this made it a lot easier as we could plan the locations well (since most of our group have been there before and know the surroundings well).
The Instrumentals and Choruses during the song will be featured in black white and filmed inside (hopefully) Ickworth Hotel which is just to the right of the main building.
If you take a look at our 'Lyrics into Themes' blog post, you will notice we have split the verses of the song into 4 different themes: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
- Spring will be filmed at the front of the House, and Amy will be positioned inbetween the pillars (not shown in the picture above) This area is circled in the picture below:
- There is then a 5 Second instrumental between the Spring theme and the Summer. Summer will be filmed in the picture below. Amy will jump out from behind the hedges (refer to storyboard).
- There is then a Chorus, which will be filmed like the previous Instrumental, inside and in black and white. Autumn is the next theme and will be filmed in the wooded areas of the gardens. We do not have a specific area of woodland in mind, but we hope it will be secluded and much like this area of the estate (however, hopefully with more autumnal colours)
- After the Autumn themed verse there is another section of chorus as well as a 25 second instrumental. The last theme is winter. We hope to film this verse early in the morning, when frost is still apparent on the ground; Amy will be performing in a variety of shots (refer to storyboard again) The filming will take place near the lake and small seating area of the gardens as pictured below.
- After the Winter themed verse, there is a fast paced Chorus. This will include a variety of shots from all the different themes. Their will be a variation of shot types including close-ups of Amy singing, or natural shots of laughter etc.
Storyboards (Click to Enlarge)
These are our storyboards; final drafts. We have written up: Shot Type and Movement, Sound and Action as well as reminders for us when a shot is in black and white or colour, the lyrics and the transitions between shots.
Thursday 25 November 2010
Visual Demographic/Psychographic Profile
Above is a visual representation of the demographic and psychographic profile of our target audience, made from a collage of pictures we found in magazines and newspapers. We also did a mind map of our target audience's wants and needs. As shown in the pictures, our target audience has good taste in clothes etc and enjoys socialising (basically everything described in the previous post). Although this post is not strictly necessary, as everything we see here is on the post before, we thought it would be nice to showcase this, as we did spend a lesson doing it, and it seems a waste if no-one gets to see all our hard work!
Demographic and Psychographic Profile of our Target Audience
After conducting quite a lot of audience research, and also having a general idea of what our target audience would be like anyway, we have decided to do a demographic and psychographic profile of our target audience. Obviously, there will be a much wider demographic than what we describe, but this is who we are actually aiming our product at-
Demographic Profile:
- Our target audience is in the age range 16-25, and is predominantly female (which is why we are using a female actor, so they audience can relate to her, but also having her act in an unconventional way in that she will not be dancing sexily, to challenge the male-dominated stereotype of women in general)
- They will be intelligent, well-educated people (by well-educated, we mean that they are either considering or are in higher education eg. A Levels or university) who can think for themselves
- Many of them will have a part-time or full-time job, so they will have reasonable spending power in their own right, rather than relying on family members for income.
- They are up-to-date with modern technologies, for example, many either want or own a phone such as a BlackBerry or an iPhone, and they spend a reasonable amount of time on social networking sites such as Facebook.
- Whilst they may read magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour, they prefer to read books or even a newspaper such as the Times once in a while.
Psychographic Profile:
- Fits roughly into the 'Liberal Sophisticates' groups in TAGS (Target Audience Grouping System), which is about 12% of the 10+ population
- They will consider themselves to be independent, liberated young people, who enjoy going out and socialising two or three times a week with friends, maybe to bars, the theatre or art exhibitions - more high class, artistic activities (unless you are looking at it from a post-modern point of view, in which case, the same level as going on a binge drinking rampage every night)
- They will have a large group of friends, some closer than others, and will see their friends as a sort of second family, going out with them, or seeing them, most nights.
- They like to keep up with both the news and celebrity gossip, and have opinions on most topics and current issues - they can hold their own in a conversation about pretty much anything.
- If they have a degree, it will be in a subject like History or English, rather than a science, and their interests lie in these subject areas as well, preferring to talk about the Pulitzer Prize than the Hadron Collider.
- They enjoy films, and often visit the cinema, and whilst they enjoy some blockbuster films, such as 'Lord of the Rings', or 'Harry Potter', they tend to prefer more indie, arthouse British films.
How we are targeting our audience with our video:
- By using a female actor, but not having her dance seductively in few clothes, we will be subverting the traditional gender roles seen in music videos, appealing to our liberated young female target audience, who will be intelligent enough to see the difference compared to a typical video
- The beautiful setting will appeal to the artistic nature of our target audience, and it may remind them of films such as 'Alice in Wonderland' by Tim Burton, or even '500 Days of Summer', where the song is featured in the opening credits
- The song itself is not a well known song, so this will appeal to our target audience, as they prefer less well known films etc
Wednesday 24 November 2010
Commenting on Audience Research
For our audience research questionnaire, we all thought very carefully on what questions we would like to know the answers to. We asked the genre and age question because we feel our main target audience is females and around the ages of 16 to 20. However, it was question number 6 that really stood out as our leading question.
Question 6 was 'do you think that females are portrayed in a positive way in music videos? And why?' Over many years now, females have been portrayed in certain ways and this has just been excepted so all genres of music portray females like this.
Here are a two examples of how female artists portray themselves:
Shakira - 'Whenever, wherever'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_LkjpYx8do&feature=BF&playnext=1&list=QL
Alexandra Burke - 'Start without you'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyBq21FtL1s&feature=BF&list=QL&index=4
As you can see that both of these artists are wearing very tight and reveling clothes and this is how most females are portrayed. Alexandra Burke's music video is interesting as it features topless men and this is a way that men can be portrayed. In our questionnaire as well, we asked 'What do you expect to see in a music video?' and 3 answers was topless men.
However, women are also portrayed badly in male artists videos. Here is examples of this:
Taio Cruz - 'Dynamite'
Taio Cruz - 'Break your heart'
As you can see, also in these videos, the females are all doing 'sexy' dances and wearing very revealing clothes.
In our music video, we are going to break the way women are portrayed. To do this we aren't going to have our actor 'Amy' doing any 'sexy' dancing and the clothes that she will be wearing will be suitable for her figure and will not be revealing. We are doing this because in our questionnaire, it was mainly the females who answered that females aren't portrayed in a positive way, therefore, as the are our target audience, we have decided to listen to them and portray females in a positive way in our music video.
Question 6 was 'do you think that females are portrayed in a positive way in music videos? And why?' Over many years now, females have been portrayed in certain ways and this has just been excepted so all genres of music portray females like this.
Here are a two examples of how female artists portray themselves:
Shakira - 'Whenever, wherever'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_LkjpYx8do&feature=BF&playnext=1&list=QL
Alexandra Burke - 'Start without you'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyBq21FtL1s&feature=BF&list=QL&index=4
As you can see that both of these artists are wearing very tight and reveling clothes and this is how most females are portrayed. Alexandra Burke's music video is interesting as it features topless men and this is a way that men can be portrayed. In our questionnaire as well, we asked 'What do you expect to see in a music video?' and 3 answers was topless men.
However, women are also portrayed badly in male artists videos. Here is examples of this:
Taio Cruz - 'Dynamite'
Taio Cruz - 'Break your heart'
As you can see, also in these videos, the females are all doing 'sexy' dances and wearing very revealing clothes.
In our music video, we are going to break the way women are portrayed. To do this we aren't going to have our actor 'Amy' doing any 'sexy' dancing and the clothes that she will be wearing will be suitable for her figure and will not be revealing. We are doing this because in our questionnaire, it was mainly the females who answered that females aren't portrayed in a positive way, therefore, as the are our target audience, we have decided to listen to them and portray females in a positive way in our music video.
Audience Research
To help our group decided on some themes for our and music video and what they like about music videos, together we went out to ask our target audience. However, we also did ask people outside our target audience because there will always be fans of music/music videos that are necessarily involved in there target audience. So here is our questionnaire and there response to it.
1) How old are you?
17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 25+, 16, 16, 26, 36
2)Are you male or female?
Male = 3
Female = 7
3) What genre of music do you like?
Rock x4, Indie x3, RnB x2, Pop x2, Folk x2, metal, jazz, anything in the the charts
(Please note: they were allowed to list as many as they wanted to)
4) Do you prefer performance or narrative music videos?
Performance = 1
Narrative = 9
5) What you expect to see in a music video?
- Women
- Julian Casablancas
- Some kind of story line, not boring women "bouncing" around
- Topless guys
- A story
- A story line that actually reflects the lyrics, not some random things
- The singer
- Topless men
- Topless men, performer, story, fast editing, special effects
6) Do you think females are portrayed in a positive way in music videos? And why?
- Yes they are, its all good
- No, most are portrayed as objects - something you look at
- No, very poor role models in which younger girls look up to
-No, they look like sluts
- No, they are portrayed as hooker that are a material bonus to fame
- It depends, usually on the singer
- No, they are very bad role models
- No, they are seen as objects
- No, they are only seen as sexual objects and under the power of men
- Depends on the genre. I think it has got better in recent years, however, the stereotypical 'semi naked girls' are still used in RnB/Rap genres.
7) What is your favourite music video?
- Westlife - Home
- Enrique Lglasies -Hero
- Damien Rice - 4 crimes
- Meat Loaf - I would do anything for love
- Queen - I want to break free
- Red hot chili peppers - Otherside
- The Strokes 0 You only live once
- Hellogoodbye - In my arms
1) How old are you?
17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 25+, 16, 16, 26, 36
2)Are you male or female?
Male = 3
Female = 7
3) What genre of music do you like?
Rock x4, Indie x3, RnB x2, Pop x2, Folk x2, metal, jazz, anything in the the charts
(Please note: they were allowed to list as many as they wanted to)
4) Do you prefer performance or narrative music videos?
Performance = 1
Narrative = 9
5) What you expect to see in a music video?
- Women
- Julian Casablancas
- Some kind of story line, not boring women "bouncing" around
- Topless guys
- A story
- A story line that actually reflects the lyrics, not some random things
- The singer
- Topless men
- Topless men, performer, story, fast editing, special effects
6) Do you think females are portrayed in a positive way in music videos? And why?
- Yes they are, its all good
- No, most are portrayed as objects - something you look at
- No, very poor role models in which younger girls look up to
-No, they look like sluts
- No, they are portrayed as hooker that are a material bonus to fame
- It depends, usually on the singer
- No, they are very bad role models
- No, they are seen as objects
- No, they are only seen as sexual objects and under the power of men
- Depends on the genre. I think it has got better in recent years, however, the stereotypical 'semi naked girls' are still used in RnB/Rap genres.
7) What is your favourite music video?
- Westlife - Home
- Enrique Lglasies -Hero
- Damien Rice - 4 crimes
- Meat Loaf - I would do anything for love
- Queen - I want to break free
- Red hot chili peppers - Otherside
- The Strokes 0 You only live once
- Hellogoodbye - In my arms
Tuesday 23 November 2010
Organisation
Organisation is the key to being able to create an amazing music video. Therefore, keeping this in mind, we decided to organise what we need on they days we are shooting and what dates we are available to shoot.
For shooting our music video, we have decided to film it after Christmas. This is because, our actor chosen goes to school in Ipswich so we cant film during our frees. This then just left the weekends. However, we all have part time jobs and either work on Saturday of Sunday. As filming at the weekend would mean we are not all available to go and help, we set the idea of filming during our Christmas holiday. Before Christmas, everyone has plans so, again like the weekends, we are not all available, therefore we are filming after Christmas before we return to school. These are the dates in which we are each free.
Rachel - 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 3rd.
Roisin - 27th, 28th, 30th, 31st, 2nd, 3rd.
Jade - 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 2nd, 3rd.
Gemma - 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 2nd, 3rd.
With these dates in mind, at this moment in time, we are hoping to be filming on the 28th, 30th, 31st and have the 3rd as a back up. However, these are subject to change as we still need to discuss this with our actor.
Planning a list of what we need to bring for each location and on each day is very important as it means we will be fully prepared and can go straight into filming.
For the inside shots, we need:
-Ipod, big light, black dress, mask, black nails, camera and tripod
For the Spring shots, we need:
- Curling tongs, small flower/s, bubble gum, camera, tripod, pink nails, peach/pink lipstick, ipod
For Autumn shots, we need:
- Leaves, fire place, brown nails, brownish lipstick, camera, tripod, ipod, gems for under the eyes
For Winter shots, we need:
- White clothes, white lipstick, white nails, white spray for hair, camera, tripod, ipod
For Summer shots, we need:
- Big flower/s, bright colour clothes, red nails, red lipstick, camera, tripod, ipod
For shooting our music video, we have decided to film it after Christmas. This is because, our actor chosen goes to school in Ipswich so we cant film during our frees. This then just left the weekends. However, we all have part time jobs and either work on Saturday of Sunday. As filming at the weekend would mean we are not all available to go and help, we set the idea of filming during our Christmas holiday. Before Christmas, everyone has plans so, again like the weekends, we are not all available, therefore we are filming after Christmas before we return to school. These are the dates in which we are each free.
Rachel - 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 3rd.
Roisin - 27th, 28th, 30th, 31st, 2nd, 3rd.
Jade - 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 2nd, 3rd.
Gemma - 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 2nd, 3rd.
With these dates in mind, at this moment in time, we are hoping to be filming on the 28th, 30th, 31st and have the 3rd as a back up. However, these are subject to change as we still need to discuss this with our actor.
Planning a list of what we need to bring for each location and on each day is very important as it means we will be fully prepared and can go straight into filming.
For the inside shots, we need:
-Ipod, big light, black dress, mask, black nails, camera and tripod
For the Spring shots, we need:
- Curling tongs, small flower/s, bubble gum, camera, tripod, pink nails, peach/pink lipstick, ipod
For Autumn shots, we need:
- Leaves, fire place, brown nails, brownish lipstick, camera, tripod, ipod, gems for under the eyes
For Winter shots, we need:
- White clothes, white lipstick, white nails, white spray for hair, camera, tripod, ipod
For Summer shots, we need:
- Big flower/s, bright colour clothes, red nails, red lipstick, camera, tripod, ipod
Saturday 20 November 2010
The season idea
Jade and myself, on free, drew a spider diagram of our season idea and discussed where we would film it and the costumes needed
The setting
We are filming at Ickworth house and grounds. Within this area, we will film in the house (with the piano, grand staircase and fire place), the front of the house, the drive way, the maze and the woodland walk (with leaves and wood)
Theme - Seasons
Spring - Roisin and Rachel
- Stop motion being used
- Film in the middle of day so it will be mild
- The costume: pale pink make up, pastel colour clothes and straight hair
Summer - Roisin and Rachel
- Stop motion being used
- Film early morning to catch the sun glare
- The costume: Make up will be a red palette, bright multicoloured clothes, curled hair with flowers in
Autumn - Jade and Gemma
- Film in mid day
- The costume: make up will be browns with a hint of gold, browns/oranges/earthy tones for clothes, ribbon in hair, the hair will be back combed
Winter - Jade and Gemma
- Film early in the morning to catch the frost
- The costume: the make up will be white lipstick/eyeshadow, nails but with a hint of blue and blue gems around eyes, the clothes will be white with pale blue and may be a hint of pink, the hair is planned to be plaited on one side and crimped and with white hair spray.
Inside - All
- Inside we have the black and white theme
- "Masquerade ball" like costume/theme
It is important to us to get the transaction between the season correct and to fit into that season. So far we have the idea of the actor sitting by the fire in the transaction between Autumn and Winter.
The chorus will be in all locations and we are going to be cutting back between all seasons and the inside theme.
The setting
We are filming at Ickworth house and grounds. Within this area, we will film in the house (with the piano, grand staircase and fire place), the front of the house, the drive way, the maze and the woodland walk (with leaves and wood)
Theme - Seasons
Spring - Roisin and Rachel
- Stop motion being used
- Film in the middle of day so it will be mild
- The costume: pale pink make up, pastel colour clothes and straight hair
Summer - Roisin and Rachel
- Stop motion being used
- Film early morning to catch the sun glare
- The costume: Make up will be a red palette, bright multicoloured clothes, curled hair with flowers in
Autumn - Jade and Gemma
- Film in mid day
- The costume: make up will be browns with a hint of gold, browns/oranges/earthy tones for clothes, ribbon in hair, the hair will be back combed
Winter - Jade and Gemma
- Film early in the morning to catch the frost
- The costume: the make up will be white lipstick/eyeshadow, nails but with a hint of blue and blue gems around eyes, the clothes will be white with pale blue and may be a hint of pink, the hair is planned to be plaited on one side and crimped and with white hair spray.
Inside - All
- Inside we have the black and white theme
- "Masquerade ball" like costume/theme
It is important to us to get the transaction between the season correct and to fit into that season. So far we have the idea of the actor sitting by the fire in the transaction between Autumn and Winter.
The chorus will be in all locations and we are going to be cutting back between all seasons and the inside theme.
A Quick Note on the Storyboards and other Planning Details...
I am currently working on the storyboarding for our music video (a task which has been made MUCH easier by the construction of our shot list...I'm not going into 5 pages worth of storyboards blind!)
If all goes to plan, they should be completed and posted on the blog between Tuesday or Wednesday this week.
Additionally, Gemma and I took the time to draw out a mindmap detailing all the asthetic qualities needed for each sequence in our video (costume, makeup, hair, setting, props etc) and that hopefully should be scanned in and posted around the same time.
As a group we have decided to pair off and take charge of two seasons in these pairs to construct and direct. Gemma and I were asigned to Autumn and Winter, whilst Roisin and Rachel recieved Spring and Summer.
We believe this is a brilliant plan of action for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it spreads the responsiblity across the group and allows each of us to be involved in multiple roles. Secondly, we have paired up according to our styles and type of vision, which makes decision making much easier. Thirdly, this shared sense of control will mean that a mix of styles and 'looks' will emerge, further heightening our theme of 'change'. And fourthly, it will mean that the mammoth task which is costume, hair and makeup can be divided between us, making organisation a whole lot easier.
Of course, we will all pitch in to each others sequences, but in moderation; that's how the best ideas are made!
If all goes to plan, they should be completed and posted on the blog between Tuesday or Wednesday this week.
Additionally, Gemma and I took the time to draw out a mindmap detailing all the asthetic qualities needed for each sequence in our video (costume, makeup, hair, setting, props etc) and that hopefully should be scanned in and posted around the same time.
As a group we have decided to pair off and take charge of two seasons in these pairs to construct and direct. Gemma and I were asigned to Autumn and Winter, whilst Roisin and Rachel recieved Spring and Summer.
We believe this is a brilliant plan of action for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it spreads the responsiblity across the group and allows each of us to be involved in multiple roles. Secondly, we have paired up according to our styles and type of vision, which makes decision making much easier. Thirdly, this shared sense of control will mean that a mix of styles and 'looks' will emerge, further heightening our theme of 'change'. And fourthly, it will mean that the mammoth task which is costume, hair and makeup can be divided between us, making organisation a whole lot easier.
Of course, we will all pitch in to each others sequences, but in moderation; that's how the best ideas are made!
A Helping Hand For Amy!
Luckily, our willing actress Amy can already play piano to a rather high standard. However, to help her out and ensure our 'piano-syncing' looks flawless, I managed to find a video explaining how to play the music from Regina Spektor's 'Us'...enjoy.
Constructing our Final Idea
Last lesson we decided to knuckle down and start organising our numberous threads of possible intentions into one final idea.
As a group we decided that revolving our production around a central theme would not only enhance the video visually, but would also create a strong base for a motif or brand that we could build upon later for our ancillary tasks.
As a group we decided that revolving our production around a central theme would not only enhance the video visually, but would also create a strong base for a motif or brand that we could build upon later for our ancillary tasks.
Finding the theme...
After listening to the lyrics, we found that the underlying message of the song is that of constant, natural change in society. The lines "they'll name a city after us; then they'll say it's all our fault" relate to the fickle nature of the mass public as they sway in their support of icons, heroes or celebrity figures. The section of the chorus; "we're rummaging for answers in the pages" again links to this in the sense of a media obsessed/controlled nature.
However, alike the song itself, we didn't want to boldly parade this message as we felt this may have destroyed the essence of the lyrics. Instead, we have opted for a more subtle, subliminal illustration of the words. A notion of change which everyone can relate to and recognise - The Seasonal Changes.
Once we noted down the length of instrumentals and the lyrics, we were able to appoint each season (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) to a verse. (Coincendently, the verse dubbed as Autumn actually begins with; "We wear our scarves just like a noose") We also decided that we wanted the chorus to remain separate from the verses, so in such sequences we have decided to use an indoor setting; focusing on the performer playing the piano which features so prominantly in the song.
Subsequently, we began to deconstruct each verse in order to match specific images with the lyrics. If you listen to the song, you should be able to identify a strong, jumpy beat in the background and this is what we want to fit our editing style with. Therefore, there will be a frequent use of jump cuts in our Music Video.
Our Final Shot List....
Instrumental - 11 seconds - Close up shots of the piano keys being played by our performer. The angle will change on every other beat, creating an arch which will strecht over the piano. Jump Cuts will be used as the transition between them.
(SPRING- we have engineered this sequence to be very young, upbeat and inventive by introducing an element of camera tricks and stop motion into the frame)
- Line 1 - Close up of performer's face
- Line 2 - Jump cut to a mid shot; performer has not moved in the frame.
- Line 3 - Jump cut to a long shot; again the performer has not altered their position in the frame.
- Line 4 - Sudden jump cut back to a midshot/close up (we will have to trail this transition beforehand to ensure what shot type works most effectively) of performer blowing bubblegum. During filming the bubble will inevitably pop, but it may be effective and fitting with the 'feel' of this season if we manage to capture the natural reaction to this event and include it.
- Line 5 - Same shot as before but we have edited it in a way that the performer is in the same position but is now holding a camera. The flash forms the transition into the next month. (Match on action with the flare of the sun?)
Instrumental - 5 seconds - Still or panning shots of the surroundings; identifying those that specifically relate to spring.
(SUMMER - Similar to spring we want to make this sequence youthful, but with a more pronounced use of stop motion)
- Line 1 - Long shot (the camera remains in this position throughout this sequence) of performing jumping out from behind the furthest bush/tree in the frame to perform lyric.
- Line 2 - Jump cut. Performer appears from the opposite side of the frame, seemingly by magic.
- Line 3/4 - Follows the same routine. Performer progresses closer to the foreground each time.
- Line 5 - Performer appears infront of the screen. Close up/extreme close up of her face.
(CHORUS - we want these sequences to have an air of sophistication about them and so will be based on a soley monocromatic theme with a black&white effect applied in post production)
- During the main bulk of the chorus we will rotate the camera around the piano by means of a dolly.
- During the four lines of "It's contagious" we will focus of close ups and mid shots of the performer singing from certain points in the room.
(AUTUMN - Showing the contrast from the two previous seasons Autumn will be largely natural and organic in it's approach. Transitions between footage will be softer with fluid threads of continuity running throughout. We plan to apply a subtle hint of sepia tone to this sequence.)
- Instrumental/line 1 - no lip syncing - A hand-held camera tracks the performer as she walks through the forest, kicking leaves etc. This is meant to look very natural as if the camera is not there; adding a completely different influence to the video that will 'shake it up' for the audience.
- Line 2 - lip syncing begins again - Close-up featuring half of the performer's face resting against the bark of a tree.
- Line 3 - Close up of the performer's hand amongst the leaves and earth.
- Line 4 - Mid shot/close up of performer singing through leaves.
(CHORUS - similar sequence of before)
Instrumental - 25 seconds - 17 seconds is extended footage from the chorus. The further 8 seconds may be silent shots linking to the Winter sequence (eg a shot of the performer looking though a frosty cobweb etc)
(WINTER - same principle as Autumn, however we will once again emphasise the jump cuts in the sequence to play on the theme of winter and the frosty, static image it entails. Since this verse is comparitvely fast paced compared to the other three, many lyrics will be paired up in one shot.)
- Line 1/2 - Long Shot/ mid shot of the performer remaining in a largely static position next to a statue; as if she has become one.
- Line 3 - Close up of performer's face against the grass (which, if all goes well, should be thick with frost and will compliment her hair and makeup perfectly)
- Line 4 - Very high angle shot, again looking down on the performer as she lays almost frozen amongst the frost.
- Line 5/6 - Close up shot taken from the side profile of the performer as she sings directly to the face of the statue.
- Line 7 - Extreme close up of the performer's lips as she sings; perhaps through a spider's web which will look beautiful if covered in dew drops....fingers crossed that we will be able to find one!
(CHORUS - " ")
- Same routine as before; however the line "It's contagious" is repeated eight times here, so each line could be paired with a sample from each season to tie the video up.
Lyrics into Themes
We have decided to split each verse into a seasonal theme...as follows...
Each season will have a specific colour scheme; incorporating costume and make-up.
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Regina Spektor - 'Us' (4 Minutes 52 Seconds)
Instrumental (11 Seconds)
They made a statue of us
And it put it on a mountain top
Now tourists come and stare at us
Blow bubbles with their gum
Take photographs have fun, have fun
Instrumental (5 Seconds)
They'll name a city after us
And later say it's all our fault
Then they'll give us a talking to
Then they'll give us a talking to
Because they've got years of experience
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious (x4)
Instrumental (9 Seconds)
We wear our scarves just like a noose
But not 'cause we want eternal sleep
And though our parts are slightly used
New ones are slave labor you can keep
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious (x4)
Instrumental (25 Seconds)
They made a statue of us
They made a statue of us
The tourists come and stare at us
The sculptor's marble sends regards
They made a statue of us
They made a statue of us
Our noses have begun to rust
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
Were living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious (x8)
IT IS DECIDED
So, looking at all our feedback as well as personal preference and discussions as a group, we have decided to have Regina Spektor - 'Us' for our Music video project and ancillary tasks. Here is the original video and link to her website for our group to use and reference.
http://reginasplash.warnerreprise.com/
http://reginasplash.warnerreprise.com/
Friday 19 November 2010
Ancillary Task - Digipack Analysis
The Digipack I have chosen to analyse is Laura Marling's album 'Alas, I Cannot Swim'. Laura Marling is a folk singer/songwriter from Hampshire, England. Both her albums 'Alas...' and her most recent 'I Speak Because I Can' were nominated for mercury prize awards. She has been associated with a number of well known artists in the UK, including Noah and the Whale, Mumford and Sons and the Mystery Jets. She is only 20 years old!
The front, back and inside of the album has a definite floral theme throughout, with the cd itself printed with a picture of a flower. The colour scheme is warm and has a folk theme to it; much like her music. There are no pictures of Marling herself, this is fairly unconventional of albums, as they mostly include at least one picture of the artist in order to satisfy the demand of close-ups made by the record label. As seen in the picture, the back page of the digipack has a picture similar to the one on the front of the album, and includes thank-you's.
The booklet includes various drawings and lyrics to the songs featured on the album, a really simple design, with a background meant to look like an artist's sketchbook. Once again the theme is very pastoral in a way, using images of nature and people living, it seems, as one.
I think this album has a great theme and the idea of nature suits Marling's style. Our music video will be very similar to this, as we are hoping to incorporate the surroundings a lot within it. I would definitely try to add at least one or two pictures of our artist in order to link it easier. This idea of a strong female solo artist is definitely something we would like people to connote from our own digipack. I like how the lyrics are in the booklet, in a really simple but effective font. Overall, for me, this digipack will definitely be an influence on how I approach creating our own.
Ancillary Task - Digipack Analysis
I chose this album primarily because it was the only one that I could find in my house (it belongs to my sister). This is the debut album of indie rock group 'Ge
neral Fiasco' who are from Northern Ireland. Since their formation in 2007 they have toured with Snow Patrol, The Wombats and The Pigeon Detectives, and they have performed at festivals such as T in the Park and Reading and Leeds.
The digipack (basically what a physical CD comes with - all the artwork etc) of this album basically contains the lyrics to the songs on the album and then on the final page, thanks from the band. The theme of 'buildings' is continued from the title of the album through to the inside pages, where pictures of buildings are seen in the background. Behind where the CD goes, there is a picture of the band members, conforming to the record label's demand for images of the band.
In our own digipack, I think it would be good to include an image of the artist/actor in our video behind the CD, as it is quite an unused space in the digipack. I also like the continuing theme throughout, and also the unusual album cover, which raises a lot of questions (why does he have rabbit ears on etc). I also like it when the lyrics are included in the digipack, so maybe this could be something that we use in our own one. However, although this digipack does not include any examples of this, I also think that we could possibly include some pictures of the artist/actor, maybe in the location that we film the video to get some continuity between the tasks.
Ancillary Task - Digipack Analysis
The Digipack i will be Shania Twain 'come on over.' As it may be obvious but this is an old digipack as now a days less Cd's are brought and are more downloaded. Even though it is an old CD the format hasn't really changed over time.
These are the pages of Shania Twain's Digipack. This Digipack contains the basic information in which you would expect it to contain. It contains the lyrics to all of the songs and on the back page it contains the track list and how long each song lasts for. It also contains shots of Shania on nearly all of the pages and this is used to advertise her more. These are all shots of her in a studio against a blank screen.
In our own Digipack, I think the set out will work well and I like the idea of writing how long the song lasts for. However, in our Digipack, I feel that pictures that have been taken in the location of the music video would look and fit in well with the digipack in which we are trying to achieve.
Ancillary Task - Webpage Analysis
Florence and the Machine's website has common motifs with her album 'Lungs' (such as the lung style necklace that she wears on the album cover, and is seen in the top left hand corner of the webpage). The general feel of the webpage is that of undiscovered treasure with the gems and corsage seen at the top right hand side of the page and the wooden background. The antique-y feel of the page (seen in the photograph in sepia tones with 'fold' marks) matches well with Florence's vintage style and the tone of her music. What is quite common in many band sites, but perhaps slightly unachievable in our own webpage, is the use of interactive parts of the page, such as the lungs, which have the navigation menu on them and 'breathe' as you hover over them.
Things that I would like to take from this page and use in our own:
- The embedded video on the right hand side and the music player at the top - helping fans or possible fans to experience her new music and see her videos.
- The way the 'look' of the site matches the sound of her music and the way she dresses, giving a cohesive feel to the brand of 'Florence and the Machine' as a whole
- The use of modern and new technologies such as 'facebook this', obviously aimed at a young, modern target audience
- The antique look used in this site would go well with Regina Spektor's sound too, so we could maybe look at achieving a similar finished product
This is the embedded video player seen on the homepage:
Ancillary Task - Webpage Analysis
Everything Everything are a fairly new and up-and-coming band and their website fits the motif of their debut album 'Man Alive'. The cover art for their digi-pack is the background they have used; also used as a back-drop during live shows.
Common Conventions...
This website, as far as I'm aware, is conventional. When you consider it is most likely the management that take care of a band's/singer's website, that gives for a lot of demand for shots of the band as well as opportunities for visitors to the website to buy merchandise or new releases. In this era, where everyone wants to be able to access whatever they want from wherever they want, you must include as many updates on the artist(s) in only the first/home page of their website (for example: Twitter and Facebook updates, tour dates, new releases and merch as well as recent and general news. Music player and video player.) Everything Everything's website contains all of these things. However, unlike many websites I have looked at, the band does not have any input, such as a blog that is visible on the website or their personal Twitter accounts. The navigation is positioned directly under the band's name and the whole website is centred to give the visitors a simpler and direct view. Their are also links to the band's Myspace and Youtube site etc.
The Constant Design Aesthetic...(Font Size/Style etc.)
Everything Everything's design aesthetic is apparent from their website. The bright and vibrant colours are relevant to their band motif. The website is aesthetically pleasing; Fonts are all the same as well as colour pallet.
Aspects I Would Use In Our Own Website...
- Embedded video (ours) and anything else that is visually pleasing for a visitor such as consistent design (font size/style) pictures available to download, merchandise and recent releases as well as updates on tour and general and the artist(s) Twitter updates being streamed. Links to artist(s) Myspace etc. All things that our chosen audience would be interested in and wanting.
- A clean look. For example, centred and not too cluttered, clear theme and navigation system.
- The look of Everything Everything's website would'nt necessarily fit with Regina Spektor or Scouting for Girls but shows the band's motif well and this is definitely something we would like to achieve.
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