Initial Location Ideas

When devising a concept for a video, an important thing to always bear in mind is the feasibility of your ambition. This easily applies to location choices as it has to be considered 'achievable'. This means we had to have preliminary thoughts about where we could stage our video just to check that it is all within the realm of possibility. 

Thankfully, a large bulk of our video will be studio based therefore making it perfectly feasible with the   facilities that Hurtwood has on offer. The school has a fully functioning film studio with a workable space, a vast array of lighting and background settings. The 'gag' of our concept is the drastic change of setting that occurs during the video. We have a fairly clear idea of what we want this transition to look like, an idea that is largely informed by the videos that we have seen in previous years. To reinforce these images we took a look at the time lapse recorded by a camera left in the studio during the filming of last years music videos. This footage speeds through every single pop promo that was shot allowing us to see the full range of potential the studio space has.

We wanted to shoot within a built up studio area that almost creates a box for the artist to perform within. At the start of the video this space would be furnished very minimalistically with as little props  or decoration as possible. The band would be surrounded by one-tone white or black walls and possibly a patterned flooring at the very most. This resembles the set up we can see here from one of 2013's music videos; 

However, this set has to evolve during the video into something considerably more striking and what one would expect from a commercially successful video. We can see from this screen shot below, from a video from the same year, that this is achievable with the facilities we have. This was only a short segment of a video in which they experimented with lighting and smoke in really interesting ways to create something visually exciting, just as we can in the future.

I also thought it would be interesting to find a visual reference point from bands that have utilised these two opposing set designs in the real world. Miraculously, I found them both from videos created for the same band. The 1975, who are a great source of inspiration for our band in terms of star image, use both types of sets in two different videos, showing their full stylistic variety while also confirming to us that these ideas are realistic in the music industry for bands like ours.

With our video, we hope to show two opposing sides to the band. One where they are being ruthlessly manufactured, and the other where they are casual friends doing the thing they love. For the later we need another set. In terms of location for the home-video cutaways we were thinking of them being in a recording studio environment, as this displays them in a very stripped back way while they enjoy what they considerer to be the best part of their profession - actually making music. For this we thought the schools in-house recording studio would be ideal. While having all the necessary equipment that a professional recording studio needs, it is also a fairly mundane and cramped space which is very realistic for a band making their first album on what would be a limited budget. It seems like an appropriate place for us to get handheld footage of the boys larking around while also recording their track. I went down their earlier to take some photos; 

We also had the idea of blending this footage with some more handheld shots of the boys walking down the street in a city together. This is to give the impression that they are on tour, another aspect of their job's that they prefer to filming music videos. For this we would be likely to use Guildford as its the nearest city to the school and if shot effectively could easily replicate London or some other major city a band would exploit for touring. Honing in on this location and finding a suitable place to film within the city is something that would come later in the process. However, we have sufficiently laid the groundwork for our locations and therefore established that there are no major issues. It is positive that two of our locations are on campus meaning we can gain easy access and will not have to waste any time travelling and transporting equipment on shoot day. 

'Hard Days Night' - The Beatles

As a reference point and source of inspiration, I thought I would look at some of The Beatles videos. The Beatles essentially created the 'boy band' as a genre and were a global phenomenon. It is interesting to see that even in the 1960's when music videos were still a relatively new feature of the industry, comparisons can be made with them and some aspects of our idea. When discussing the extra element for the video, having decided that it was going to be footage of the band in a relaxed atmosphere enjoying themselves as friends, this made me think of the video for 'Hard Days Night' by The Beatles. This video shows the foursome stripped back, going around in their classically mischievous manor, while still maintaing their iconic look. Although our band wouldn't be chased by a hoard of adoring fans, I think it might be interesting to see them in a city environment like with this video. The video is of course more produced and conceptual than it may seem. Despite it being a dated image to create for band, I hope that we are bringing it originality with the way we are staging it and adding an element of satire. 

Casting

Now that we have somewhat settled on an idea to move forward with, an appropriate step to take next is casting. Considering the level of performance in the video, casting is simply vital. It could easily be the deciding factor in the success of the video, and has proved to be in the past. It is even more important with this particular video, as the boys have to be of a certain look to comply with the star image of the band. If any one of them looks out of place in the context of the group, then it is ruined. You then have to pair their look with their ability to perform realistically and confidently in front of camera. To find a mixture of all these factors is difficult, and it may ultimately require you to take a gamble with an individual. However, from the students available to us in the school, myself and Rachel managed to whittle down to a list of our preferred four. These are;

Chris, lead singer.

Chris has a strong jaw and dark, brooding features. These are characteristic of lead singers. If he is styled correctly I believe he will look quite effective as a front man. Knowing him personally, I am confident he possesses the charisma to give it his all in front of camera. The only issue may be his ability in lip-syncing, something we are likely to screen test and determine whether it is something we should work on. 

Callum, guitarist.

Callum carries the right look that would work with the band. I know he is a performer and is also a prolific guitarist meaning he will look comfortable giving the impression he is playing along. Callum is also a singer which may be useful in terms of backing vocals. He could easily be seen as the co-song writer of the band, as is often the case in real life.

Joe, basist. 

  Joe is steriotypically 'handsome' and would provide variety for the band with his blonde. As far as I know, he is not musical but this is something that be worked around filmically. I was part of a music video last year where one of the guitarists and never played in his life but was made to look competent. The look of the cast is deemed more important as it is not something you can fake, unlike the ability to play guitar. 

Ben, drummer.

 Ben is a good friend of mine and an excellent drummer in real life. This is slightly more important as the drums are considerably harder to imitate effectively than the guitar. He also has a very strong look with his dark features and alternative hair cut, which would help us to create an 'edgy' persona for him.

Despite being happy with who we have chosen, these are only preliminary casting selections that could easily be subject to change. The song may play a factor in altering the band dynamic as the look of the singer may not suit the song. Also, these individuals are likely to be in high demand from the rest of the year so securing them to our project may prove difficult, despite us having had conversations with them all. Also, casting sessions may follow this decision to comprehensively discover that who we have chosen is correct for our video and they can perform sufficiently. 

First Timeline

From a production perspective, an essential part of creating a music video is completing a timeline. A timeline allows you to display all your ideas together. Despite only writing them down on paper, it allows you to see the depth of actual content that you have in mind and in later editions helps you to match that content to certain moments and seconds in the song. In order to complete this task both I and Rachel had to get off the 'fence' in terms of song choice. We decided to choose 'Stand By Your Gun' by George Ezra as we felt the Vampire Weekend song was slightly too well known and already has a well made video. The chosen song is upbeat, alternative and suit the concept. This is our first timeline and the idea is still in its development stages, however it does show us that we certainly have something to work with.

‘Stand By Your Gun’ – Geogre Ezra – Initial Timeline

• 4 male band members in straight line, front of shot. Plain white studio background. Empty.
• One member of the band addresses an imaginary production manager behind the camera “Are we gonna start or what?”
• Jump cut to the band in roughly the same positions. Song starts.
• Boys stand in same spots. Look bemused. One nods his head to the track. 
• Typography appears over the screen in personalised font displaying the title of the song.
• Another member acts as if he is being directed, told to move to the back of the room where the stool is. Same for two other members who assume positions as guitarists.
• Band looks dissatisfied and confused. Jump cut to same formation with certain members having alternated their positions.
• Still not right, assistant director walks on set and switches the position of the guitarist and the lead singer by literally moving him.
• Crew member then returns with a microphone on a stand and places it in front of lead singer. He is then is chucked a leather jacket from off camera which promptly puts on, slight disgruntled. He gestures towards the microphone questioning, and when given confirmation joins in with the track and begins to lip-sync – ‘We don’t need’ (00:32 sec)
• Two other crew members then follow, one carrying an electric guitar and the other a bass. They hand these to the boys either side of the lead singer. Once assembled they then join in with the song.
• The drummer at the back (who already had drumsticks) is left tapping away at his legs. One by one, pieces of the drum kit are brought in and assembled around his stool. He plays on what he can until he eventually has the whole kit and plays normally. Can be jump cut together for speed. (All instruments should be in shot by 00:58 sec)
• We then cut to ‘flat-on’, portrait head and shoulder shots of each band member. Cut through these individually before making a collage of all four (01:06) for backing vocal line.
• Stylist comes on and we see her fiddle with the hair of the lead singer (putting wax/hairspray in it and styling it with comb). He is visibly frustrated as he is trying to sing the song.
• Cut to crew members trying to set up lighting rig in corner of studio. Drummer looks, distracted.
• Back to wide. We see the assumed director come in to shot to demonstrate to people in the background how he we wants to size up a shot of the lead guitarist’s playing.
• We then cut to this shot where we see the guitarist do two firm strums of the guitar for the chorus line (01:23). And identical video is referred back to for the same melody later in the chorus(01:31). In between this is a similar shot but with the bass instead and lead singer on vocals.
• ‘Flat on’ waist up shot of bass player who is stood at an angle. We see him playing along on the bass to the chorus.  Drummer is visible in background but out of focus. Stylist comes on  and puts a pair of sunglasses on his face, and an already lit cigarette (fake) into his mouth. Bassist is surprised as if he doesn’t even smoke. Powerless as he is using his hands to play.
• Shot of drummer playing. Cool and moody. However, distracted again by crew members around him setting up neon lights/smoke machines.
• Cut to home video footage of band. Handheld, creates contrast with the camera work we have seen thus far. Messy and possibly slightly grainy as if it could have been shot on an iPhone. The band show their playful, nonchalant personality. Messing around in music studios while recording the actual track. Unpacking their own merchandise from the box and making fun out of it. Walking down the street together looking trendy. Laughing and joking, possibly even within the film studio they are in. ( Lasts roughly 00:30 sec – 01:39 to 02:12)
• Cuts back to the studio setting that looks largely different with more lights and set design. Band still play, drummer and guitarist contribute backing vocals for rest of the track.
• We are shown a ‘birds-eye view’ shot of the whole studio to fully stress the façade being created as we can clearly see the cameras, crew/producers/directors and backstage. Manufactured.
•  A pretty girl is shoved onto the stage next to the lead singer. She looks outwards slightly ditsy and awkward. The lead singer gestures behind camera, slightly bemused as they are suggesting that he needs to interact with her despite only literally having just met her.
• Cuts to a ‘flat on’ two shot of them, where he gives in throws his arm round her shoulder and kisses her on the cheek. Afterwards he looks back to ask if that was enough?
• Back to wide. Band continue performance. They look slightly more comfortable as they move around the space more. The camera work changes and becomes less flat. Experiments with different angles, depth of field and pans. Lighting works in conjunction with the track. Looks like a music video. Producers have achieved their product.
• This plays until the end of the track. Entertaining in a commercial aspect.
• Extreme close up from 02:57 to end of track as lead singer concludes with the lines ‘Waste your time’ straight to camera.
• Final shot of two anonymous hands pulling a part a large industrial, electrical blog as the screen blacks out. Video shot, product made, job done.
  End

The Pitch: 2

With the reformation of a second group, this of course meant a second pitch to Luke. I was understanably less worried about this one as it was in private and we had been through the process before. I also felt more confident about the idea I was bringing to him this time. Much like the first pitch, we were able to film his immediate response to the idea after I had explained it to him;

This was the beginning of what actually turned out to be a half-hour conversation with Luke which was great as this private meeting granted us much more time than we had pitching conventionally with the rest of the class. This meant we were able to go into detail about the ideas for our video and he was able to respond at length. After doing this the first time, I found making a summarised list of his comments very useful in helping us to evaluate the idea. Therefore, I decided to do the same again. 

Luke's Feedback

- Luke immediately understood the concept of the video and the big ideas about the criticism of  the manufacturing and commercialisation of the music industry.

- He, like us, thought the the video needed a further element and started to suggest possible avenues we could take. He thought our suggestions for this were completely workable.

- He suggested one possibility was to show the people behind the manufacturing process such as producers and managers. Myself and Rachel, weren't as keen on this idea as we thought that it would be difficult to find appropriate casting for these roles. We preferred his idea of a "freedom scene" which linked in with the thoughts we were having.

- He found the personality we were creating for the band very realistic as he has seen bands act the same in his experience as a director.

- He warned that our 'gags' won't take up as much time as you might think so it needs to be planned well using timelines and storyboards.

- I later discussed some ideas I had regarding shooting certain sections using a specific brand of slow motion were through adapting the speed of the song, some people move at normal speed where as others can either be faster or slower. He fully understood the process of the making this happen and said despite it being ambitious, it is perfectly possible. However, upon discussion we both agreed that it might not be in-keeping with the tone of the video and runs the risk of not looking exactly right. 

- He suggested that the video could actually start with another lead singer who begins to lip-sync before being swapped for another band member by an executive. I really liked this idea but thought that it shouldn't go as far as the false singer actually beginning to lip-sync. However, I feel it captures the plasticity of the people behind the video really well.

- In general, he responded really well to the video and said it was different while still containing some really recognisable themes.

- He also stressed how it is an idea that it is largely dependant on well it is executed by us as a team.

I felt increasingly positive after coming out of this meeting with Luke. He was progressively more enthusiastic about the idea as he discussed and raised some important issues for us to consider, while also letting us in on some of the practicalities of things such as lighting and what cameras/lenses we could use for specific moments. We were also able to establish a plan for shooting a further element for the video which will include handheld, home-video footage of the band 'off duty', having fun as friends. This shows the true side to the band when they are not bound to their contractual obligations. We can see them messing about/touring and actually recording the track in the studio. This creates an interesting contrast while also developing the star image of the band. It helps us solve a problem in terms of having enough content to fill the video. For the first time since this project began, I now feel an element of stability and assurance in an idea that I feel is within our reach, that we can develop make happen. 

New Concept

Due to the slightly unpractical arranging of the groups, this has placed myself and Rachel behind some other groups in terms of development meaning we were under pressure to form and agree on an idea together before we can move on to the next stage. Thankfully, I feel we have managed to do this.

Our new concept still centres around an indie boy-band. It was a genre that both myself and Rachel showed and interest in and felt comfortable working with. Having a band as opposed to a solo artist obviously allows for more visual stimulus, which is likely to prove useful when cutting the video as there is always something you can revert back to in times of need. After what was quite an effective brainstorm, we had an array of elements at hand that we just needed to sew together with a concept. I went home and listened to the songs we had in mind repeatedly to see if I could find any inspiration. I did come up with something, that was well received by Rachel the following day.

The idea is to essentially create a music video based around the production of a music video. The video would start with the band in a studio setting with one-tone walls, no furnishings or decorations. The band are in the positions you would expect to find them in for a performance, but they have no instruments and they are wearing basic clothing (white t shirt/black jeans). The music then starts and the lead singer begins to lip-sync and the band begin to mime their instruments. Over the course of the song, 'crew' members then appear in shot and start to dress the band, the set and manually give them there instruments. The band carry on nonchalantly as if the is normal, and if anything slightly annoying. Once given they're instruments the crew and dressers continue to pester them by styling their hair, putting extra clothing items on them. This is all happening while other crew in the background are bringing the studio to life (e.g. painting the walls, rigging neon lights.) The band are bemused by this as they are just trying to play their song. If done well the we should have two totally opposing images at the start and end of the video, which the audience should find pleasing. The majority of the shots would be long and held to show the process, with some cutting to the emotions of the band. They're will be bits of handheld to make it look purposefully messy at times and possibly even a birds-eye shot so that the fact they are in a set is clear, which in turn overtly shatters the facade of the 'music video' concept. This is largely a visual concept idea as opposed to being narrative based. Some audience members may find it entertaining as well as effectively creating an interesting star image for the band. This is that they clearly find the process of making a heavily commercial music video draining and boring, and really just care about the music.

There are two songs that we currently have in mind for this concept. Both are quite bold and we feel they both suit the concept to some extent. The benefit of this idea is that it not totally dependant on the song due to its lack of narrative. This means that our decision in this respect is malleable. Our final decision can be made once we have assembled a cast for the band and considered both the pros and cons of each. The songs are 'Oxford Comma' by Vampire Weekend and 'Stand By Your Gun' by George Ezra.

  

Thematically, this video bears resemblance to The 1975 'Girls' video which attempts to effectively create a similar star image of a nonchalant boy band who care little for their own marketing as artists;

Both myself and Rachel understand that the basis for this idea is interesting, but it needs another element to make it sustainable for a three minute video. Furthermore, I have already done preliminary research into the conventions of an indie/rock band for my former idea for my previous group, so therefore have a head-start with this work. Tomorrow, we plan to hold a another private pitch with Luke to gain his opinion and see if he has any supplementary ideas that could bring it forward. We will hear this before acting any further.

Group Issues

Unfortunately, I happened to miss the Monday of this school week. I later learnt that in my absence the class encountered some serious problems in regard to groups. Various different members of the class were seemingly discontent with either the groups or concepts they found themselves working with. Despite this being unprofessional behaviour, it undoubtedly created rifts and tension in some of the groups meaning the class required a reshuffle. I was able to return of the Tuesday and play some part in this decision. As it turned out, the best possible solution where everyone in the class would be happy would be to create an extra group so that a certain four members would be able to work together. This involved my and Rachel forming that supplementary. This obviously seems very detrimental as I now have less people to work with but I am happy with the way things have turned out. Myself and Rachel are good friends who share similar ideas and work ethic. We are also both photography students meaning we will be able to utilize this set of skills later in the course.

Being in a new group, this meant we had to start devising a relatively new set of ideas. Rachel immediately wasn't sure on the stickman idea, which also suited me as I had seriously began to doubt the feasibility of creating the animation. However, we could both agree that we wanted to work within the genre of indie rock. We started discussing songs in order to use these as a springboard for possible ideas. We created a brainstorming sheet and set each other homework to go home and try to invent doable concepts. We are now in a position where decisions have to be made quickly. Despite this, me and Rachel are comfortable enough to be completely honest with one another which certainly speeds up the process. I am now looking forward to what we can create from here.