Mrs D

This is coming along nicely Ashleigh. I look forward to seeing a storyboard soon. The images and preparation looks good and should help considerably when constructing.

Final casting and filming days

Band:
Hollie, Robbie, Simon, Zak, Joe.

Mean girl:
Sophie Stafford

Main character in the narrative:
Kate Goodenough

Live footage filming:
1st October - Reading Face Bar
16th October - Bracknell Cellar Bar

Narrative filming around Crowthorne:
8 th & 9th October

Magazine advert layout - drafts

Digipack side panel layout - drafts

Digipack back cover layout - drafts

Digipack front cover layout - drafts

Storyboard

Mise En Scene choices

Clothing:
Kate: Baggy hoodie/jumper, preferably grey or brown, showing the vulnerablility of her personality. Skinny jeans, typical of the artists and fans of this genre/style of music. Converse trainers - simple and don't draw attention away from the lyrics/storyline.

Hollie and the boys: They can wear whatever their usual performing clothes on the day, I'm not going to style a band that already fit in well with their genre of music. They usually wear basic/printed shirts, skinny jeans and trainers. I'd like them to wear different outfits for the 2 different gigs to make the divide from the 2 gigs obvious.

Setting:
Face Bar - Reading
Cellar Bar - Bracknell
Kates house - Crowthorne
Broadmoor field - Crowthorne
Edgbarrow school & sixth form buildings - Crowthorne (need to get letter of acceptance for filming done)

Props needed:
Mirror and dressing table
Makeup/books for the dressing table
Hairbrush
Makeup
Computer
Mobile phone
School desk
Diary & pen

Make up:
Kate: Basic, natural makeup, with one line of liquid eyeliner on the top lid of the eye because this is common amongst teenagers that are into this genre of music. I don't want her to wear lipstick or bright colours, because this will imply that she's confident at the start of the story, which is the opposite of what I want to portray

Hollie: Hollie usually wears neutral makeup which I think will fit in with their music, as their personalities are down to earth. They often describe themselves as 'regular people'.

Sophie: Bright, in your face colours - blues, pinks and reds, similar to the character in the Misery Business video that's portrayed as the 'villain'. This shows that the character is confident, cocky and thinks she is above everyone else. Makeup will also indicate a strong divide between the two narrative characters.

Setting

This is a photo I took of my friend Leah in the field where I'll be doing some of the storyline filming at sunset with a prime lens and backlighting from the sun.

This photo was taken by Tim Easton at Thhe Cellar Bar where some of the live footage will be filmed.

This photo was taken by me at Face Bar, where some of the live footage will be filmed

Other places I will be filming:
Backstage with the band
In the actress' bedroom
At the actress' dresser

Lyrics, timings and cuts

Intro music (26 seconds)
Shot of Hollie at the mic (5 seconds)
Shot o drummer snare drum (10 seconds)
Shot of the camera circling the actress (10 seconds)
Shot back to Hollie at the mic (7 seconds)

0:27
The past doesn’t comfort me.
Close up of Hollie's lips (2 seconds)
My trusted failure’s my legacy.
Medium close up shot of Hollie (7 seconds)
Don’t watch me fall again.
0:38
It’s just a slip of the tongue.
Backing vocals singer close up (2 seconds)
You know, you just let down everyone.
Cuts to actress looking at her text 'you just let down everyone' (3 seconds)

(Everyone.)
Close up of eyes crying (2 seconds)
Cuts to actress throwing everything off of her desk 0:52 (2 seconds)

Close up of drums hitting 0:52
(CHORUS)
0:53
Say what you want. (7 seconds)
Checking Facebook messages - bullying/threatening messages (12 seconds)
I’ve heard it all before, I know that you…
Say what you want. (7 seconds)
At the table at school, girl comes up to her and throws her stuff everywhere and laughs (10 seconds)
You want.
I know what you want.

I know what you want.
Writing in her diary 'they want to see me cry' (11 seconds)

1:32
My past has been playing me, my second mistakes are mistakes in me.
Girl ripping up photographs of herself and throwing them in the fire
(Mistakes in me)
Better make them all again.
Doing makeup in the mirror
It’s just a slip of the tongue.
Guitar rythm close up
You don’t realise you’re threatening the only one.
Close up smirk
Close up of Hollie's lips

You don’t fire this loaded gun.
Long shot of the whole band playing
It’s anyone.

Rapid drum beat close up
(CHORUS)
Say what you want. (7 seconds)
Crosses out previous diary extract and writes 'Say what you want'

I’ve heard it all before, I know that you…
Say what you want. (7 seconds)
You want.
I know what you want.
Over the shoulder shot 'I know what you want'
I know what you want.
Various shots of the band playing
Simon guitar close up
Hollie close up
Medium long shot of Hollie
Medium long shot of drummer
Close up of drumsticks hitting drum skin

Guitar solo
Guitar solo close up
(26 seconds)

3:03
It’s just a slip of the tongue,.
It’s just a slip of the tongue.
It’s just a slip of the tongue
It’s just a slip of the tongue
Crowd clapping in rhythm

IT’S JUST A SLIP OF THE TONGUE
Medium shots of band headbanging, spinning and thrashing
You know, you’re not fooling anyone.
Girl shouting 'You're not fooling anyone' at the other girl
Girl backs the other girl up at lockers, shouting
It’s just a slip of the tongue
You’re not fooling anyone
Say what you want. (7 seconds)
Medium close up of Hollie
I’ve heard it all before. I know that you…
Say what you want. (7 seconds)
Pushes the girl against the lockers, close up of the reaction of the bully
I know what you want.
Saying this to the girl
I know what you want.
Saying this to the camera - close up, smile on face at the end and looks down

TOTAL SONG TIME - 4:20

Mrs D

I like the choice of tracks and it's good to see someone who has gone for an unsigned band. I can see that you have some good ideas about your music promo. I would recommend getting some audience feedback as to which one you should chose as they could both work.

Pitch

The song I have chosen is Say What You Want by We Caught The Castle, a local band from Reading. I have all of the permission I need from the band, actress and venues to film, so this won't be a problem.

Say What You Want is a song about not judging people on their past. The band are telling the people that put them down that they can 'saywhat they want' because they're happy with their lives and are successfull musicians. 'You just let down everyone' is something that critics say to them. 'Trusted failure' 'Watch my fall again' and 'I've heard it all before' are all key lyrics to the song and show the attitude of the band. These lyrics are important and should be linked in with the live footage I plan on shooting. There are several references to the past, and idea I have is to have a scene where the actress is ripping up photos of people that have never had faith in her. Guitar solos should be linked in with live footage. I'd like to include slow motion clips of the girl smashing things around, frustrated with what people say to her.
At the beginning I'd like to film her walking toward the camera in the woods, the camera focused on her feet, slowly tilting up to her face to introduce the character. Other scenes I'd like to include are the girl doing her makeup and getting dressed - a symbolism of pride and also texting someone saying 'say what you want'. The end clip will be a close up of the girl smiling, content with who she is.

Ancillary planning

We Caught The Castle want me to do a photoshoot of them in their Valencourt clothing they won in a competition. I thought it'd be good to use these images as my artwork for my poster and album cover/digipak.

My main image will be composed similar to the photograph of Lower Than Atlantis, with all band members stood closely together but Hollie (the lead singer) slightly infront of the rest of the band to demonstrate importance. The long shot enables the whole band to be seen, showing that they're perhaps fashion icons and that the clothes they wear are important to their overall image as a band.

The band will be dressed in their Valencourt tops and hoodies and skinny jeans. Clothing brands are often sponsors of bands and their clothes are often featured in band promos.

Mrs D

You have done a lot of preparation here Ashleigh. I look forward to discussing the song choice with you tomorrow.

Letter of acceptance to film (venues)

Ashleigh Higgs to NORTHMORE
Dear Madam,
I'm writing to ask whether it would be possible to have permission tofilm We Caught The Castle at your venue on the 1st October for mymedia coursework. I have permission from the band, but need permissionfrom the venue too. Many thanks,
Ashleigh Higgs

Ashleigh Higgs to alheslop
show details 3:52 PM (0 minutes ago)
Dear Sir,I'm writing to ask whether it would be possible to have permission tofilm We Caught The Castle at your venue on the 16th October for mymedia coursework. I have permission from the band, but need permissionfrom the venue too. Many thanks,
Ashleigh Higgs

Both managers of venues have agreed to the filming as long as no heavy lights/extra recording equipment on stage are used.

Letter of acceptance to be filmed (actress)

Dear Kate,
I was wondering whether you would be interested in acting in my media coursework music video for We Caught The Castle's 'Layer Cake'. I'll have a story board for you soon, but for now, I just need your consent to be filmed, as I know you were enthusiastic about being featured in the video before.
Ashleigh

Hi Ash,
Yeah, that's fine. Just let me know when and where.
Kate

Letter of acceptance to be filmed (band)

Hey Hollie! I was wondering whether it would be okay to use a WCTC song for my media coursework? I need to make a music video and I need a female fronted band that's unsigned. I would need to come to a few of your gigs and get some live footage, but part from that, you wouldn't need to do anything. The video won't be shown anywhere else apart from in my media class unless you'd like it to be. If that's alright, I'd be really grateful. Thank you, Ashleigh


Yeah that would be great! love to help you out! also, as we won the front photoshoot, i think we're getting some valencourt clothes too, and we'd love if you'd be able to do some snaps of us in them, to promote the band and splash online and stuff! if you're up for it, i'll let u know the details asap? xo Hollie

Song ideas

(Not an official video. It was made by a fan)

Layer cake - WeCaughtTheCastle
Opportunities to get live footage:
1st October - Reading Face Bar
16th October - Bracknell Cellar Bar

Ideas

Female fronted rock band - WeCaughtTheCastle or Red Means Go - they're unsigned and local so permission to use a song will be relatively easy.

Live footage & narrative

'Dirty little secrets' video style





Take elements of each video - text on image/in frame
Using prime lens on SLR camera when filming to get bokeh effect (seen in We Are The In Crowd video) with shallow depth of field.
Using macro lens for footage that isn't live for close up shots of hands, eyes, lips etc.
Using coloured lens filters for mood
Holding up signs with lyrics
Footage from parties in slow mo of people dancing, jumping etc

Dolby

You have understood well the idea that the ancillary tasks directly link to the video as a pormotional package but be sure you have understood that it is a magazine advert for the digipack- make sure you do some analysis of all 4 panes of the pack and not just the cover.

Real media artefacts - music videos

The music video for stitches was advertised on the UK tour poster earlier on in my blog. The video successfuly uses contunity of colour and links in with the 'gothic' style of the album cover, not only with the visual effects of the video (smoke, slow motion editing, dark rooms, lack of lighting, eagle, crow, old piano etc.), but the lyrics of the video too 'I find comfort in decay' is a typical lyric for their genre of music, when this lyrics is sung, there is a shot of the lead singer Gustav Wood holding his hand up against the camera, this suggests that the lyric is personal and that they want it to connect with the audience. Throughout the whole video, close ups of hands, eyes, lips and necks are used to make the video feel more intimate and 'beautiful' as the band have described in interviews with the press. The video is very much performance based, showing the audience how passionate the band are when performing and actually demonstrating what they play like live at gigs. Slow motion editing is used in certain bits of the video when the song slows down e.g a close up of feathers rising up from the drums as Ben hits them with drumsticks. Sillhouettes are also created by natural backlighting which give a sense of mystery about what the band looks like at the begninning of the video. The band members are dressed in every day clothes (jeans and a t shirt) to demonstrate that they're every day guys, and not 'rock gods' as they often put accross in interviews. The video reflects the band's personalities, music genre and attitude towards music extremely well, and therefore I think it is an affective, almost emotional video.

Paramore - The Only Exception

This video is entirely performance based. The video was created by the band top promote a new acoustic version of their song Never Be What You Want.
The video features the lead guitarists (and vocals) and the lead singer of the band in a rehearsal room with fairy lights and warm lighting. This helps imply that the band are of a pop-punk genre with lighthearted lyrics and perhaps that their music mainly appeals to a female audience, as they're personal lyrics that relate to relationships and teenage worries. The bokeh effect the camera has achieved with the fairy lights is to do with shallow depth of field, I think this links in with the lead singer as it's quite feminine and soft. The cuts fit in with the music, and close ups are used when necessary (my heart is often a lyric that close ups of Taylor's lips are used). Close ups are also used to get personal to the artist. Close ups of the lips, eyes and hands are physically attractive to a male audience when used for Taylor or attractive to a female audience when used on Blake. Extreme close ups of strumming and the piano are also used to demonstrate the band's technical skill. They are dressed in a particular way that links in with their style of music (baggy tops, jeans and beanie hats) their clothing is 'comfy' which then links into the lighthearted style of the video. The video is simple, but effective. Demonstrating femininity, technical skill and will appeal to both male and female audiences.

Real media artefacts - tour poster

Young Guns tour poster

The tour poster includes:
Tour dates to give the audience relevant information about the upcoming tour and where they can catch the bands
A link to ticket site so that people know where to buy the ticket
Album reviews to show that the album is impressive, and to also persuade people that have never listened to the band to go and see them to see something different.
Date for single release to give fans relevant information on when to buy the single.
Image of the band grabs the female audience and portrays the band as powerful/important.
Black border makes the poster stand out against bright colours/white.
Continiutiy of grey, white and black links into the albumc cover and Stitches video. Grey becomes associated with the band.
Information about the promoter of the show so that press/magazines can get in touch, or bands can get in touch about supporting slots.
Sponsors (MacBeth clothing), this helps make MacBeth money.
Social networks and record label website so that fans can follow what the band are doing on and off of tour.




Paramore tour poster

Tour poster includes:
Tour dates so that fans can catch the band at their local venue.
Ticket release date so fans can get in fast for tickets in case the sell out.
Sponsors, the band get sponsored by people, so they help them out my advertising that particular brand on tour posters that will be seen all over the world.
Image of the band helps sell the tickets, people may find the band members attractive or fashion icons.
Border is typical of tour posters anyway, but this helps the poster stand out against backgrounds.
Continutiy of orange always applies to Paramore.
Continutiy of butterfly wings shows that the tour applies to their new album and they'll be playing songs from that album rather than older songs.
Promoter of the show at the top of the poster so press can get in contact.
Ticketmaster number and website gives you different ways of buying tickets.

Real media artefacts - digipack

Young Guns - All Our Kings Are Dead

This album cover relates to the band well through the way text, images and colour were chosen. The image is of a rabid lion, which suggests power, but also implies the genre of music they play - rock. The colours chosen are continuous throughout the album cover, music video for stitches and the All Our Kings Are Dead tour poster, which I think is effective - you end up associating the colour grey with the band, and if you saw the image of the lion anywhere else, you'd know it belonged to Young Guns if you were a fan. The swirl graphics around the lion suggest that the band are 'regal' and take themselves seriously. This is effective, because it adds to you first impression of the band and what their style of music is like. Some of their songs have piano and violin playing in a 'gothic' way, which also links to the swirls, which are gothic. The image has also been composed so it's in the center to demonstrate how important the logo is.

Paramore - Brand New Eyes

The Paramore Brand New Eyes album cover is plain and simple, as Paramore are a well established band that don't really need to make a statement with fancy artwork. The album is also a lot more delicate than their earlier music (e.g Riot) with acoustic tracks and light hearted melodies. The butterfly also implies this. The colours are toned down to a simple yellow, cream and black. Even though the yellow and black contrasts well, it's still subtle against the background. The album cover tells us that we can expect something different from the band. Perhaps a fresh start as a band after losing a couple of members.

Mrs D

This is coming along nicely Ashleigh. Well done. I like your idea about using the blog to help you get focus group information. Keep up the good work and add some more analysis to your questionaire.

Focus group results

Do you think the characters are portrayed well?
1 I think the lead singer's character was portrayed well as the character is strong and independent, which is similar to the singer's personality
2 I think both of the female characters were portrayed well because you have a clash of personalities that links back to rock music which has the 'I don't care what anyone else thinks' flare to it.
3 I think that the lead singer's character was portrayed well but not as well as she could be. She's not in much of the narrative.
4 I think that the leader singer's character contrasts well against the other female character, visually, she has a lot more attitude, and she comes across strong, like her music.
5 I think that the female character that gets found out is portrayed as a stereotype, and I don't think that's very good.

Do you think the narrative is effective?
1 Yes
2 Yes
3 Yes
4 Yes
5 No

Do you think the video represents age and gender well?
1 Yes
2 Yes
3 Yes
4 Yes
5 Yes

What do you think the video is trying to portray?
1 Clash of stereotypes
2 Stereotypes
3 Attitude of the band
4 What school life is like
5 Looks aren't everything

Does the video link in with the lyrics effectively?
1 Yes because certain lines of the song link well with what's happening on screen
2 Yes
3 Yes
4 Yes
5 Yes

What don’t you like about the video?
1 The way the lead singer is dressed
2 The male members of the band aren't shown much
3 Flashing lights
4 Choreography
5 The makeup and costume of the lead singer

What do you like best about the video?
1 Cuts are in time with the music
2 Lead singer's clothes
3 Colour scheme of orange in performance bit
4 Use of close ups on all characters
5 The video is comical

Is there a range of shots and editing techniques?
1 Yes, throughout
2 Yes, sometimes
3 Yes
4 Not really
5 Sometimes

Do these shots and editing techniques help sell the video?
1 I suppose so
2 I don't really pay attention to them, so no
3 Subconsciously, yes
4 No
5 Not really

Does colour attract you to the video?
1 Yes! Bright colours for punk rock
2 Yeah. The lead singer is always linked with orange
3 I'm not too fussed
4 Yes, colour is exciting
5 No

Are the props, costume and location all appropriate for the song and video?
1 Yes
2 Yes
3 Yes
4 Yes
5 Yes

Focus group questionnaire

Video: Paramore – Misery Business



Do you think the characters are portrayed well?
Do you think the narrative is effective?
Do you think the video represents age and gender well?
What do you think the video is trying to portray?
Does the video link in with the lyrics effectively?
What don’t you like about the video?
What do you like best about the video?
Is there a range of shots and editing techniques?
Do these shots and editing techniques help sell the video?
Does colour attract you to the video?
Are the props, costume and location all appropriate for the song and video?

Ancillary results

What makes you buy an album (visually)
Colour, photos, composition of text, different materials for packaging, special edition, bonus CD
-This results tells us that people look for unique visual features when looking at albums-

What colour do you associate with rock music?
Red – 9
Orange – 4
Yellow – 0
Green – 4
Blue – 7
Purple – 2
Pink – 0
Black – 5
White – 0
-This tells us that Blue and Red are most associated with rock music-

Is colour important when looking at a poster or album cover?
Yes – 20
No – 10
-This tells us that colour is relitively important when attracting someone to an album-

What sort of font do you associate with rock music?
Rounded - 0
Curly - 0
Bold - 9
Spikey - 20
Italic - 1
Other - 0
-This tells us that spikey and bold fonts are expected on album covers for rock artists-

What do you expect to see on a band tour poster most? (You may circle two)
Most popoular answers were a large photo of the band, tour dates and links to social networking sites.
-This tells us that enough information should be on a tour poster for people to know when to buy tickets and where from-

What is your favourite album cover and why?
Some choices were Nirvana - Nevermind, Eminem - Relapse, Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown, Muse - The Resistance and Coldplay - X & Y
-This implies that some of the most popular and well known album covers are by rock artists-

Ancillary questionnaire

Ancillary questionnaire (please ring your answer)

What makes you buy an album (visually)?__________________________________________________________________________________

What colour do you associate with rock music?
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
Pink
Black
White

Is colour important when looking at a poster or album cover? __________________________________________________________________________________

What sort of font do you associate with rock music?
Rounded Curly Bold Spikey Italics Other (please state below) __________________________________________________________________________________

What do you expect to see on a band poster most? (you may circle two)
Tour dates
free download links
a large photo of the band/artist
a small photo of the band/artist
information about new releases
a link to the band’s website and social networks
Other (please state below) __________________________________________________________________________________

What is your favourite album cover and why? __________________________________________________________________________________

Pie charts for results

Are you male or female?
This shows us that the people that took my survey were mainly female.

How old are you?
This shows us that the people that took my survey were mainly 16-20

What is your favourite genre of music?
This tells us that the most popular genre of music was Rock, then Pop and then Heavy Metal.


Do you watch music videos?
This tells us that the majority of the people that took my survey did watch music videos.

How often do you watch music videos?
This tells us that the majority of people that took my survey only watched music videos ones a week.

What do you enjoy most about music videos?
This tells us that the majority of people that took my survey would be most interested in the artist being on screen and the storyline of the video opposed to dancing or live footage.

What music channel do you watch most?
This tells us that the majority of the people I asked watched Kerrang!, MTV or Scuzz the most.

Pie charts for results

What is your favourite genre of music?

Do you watch music videos?

How often do you watch music videos?

How old are you?

Are you male or female?

What do you enjoy most about music videos?

What music channel do you watch most?

Results

Hip hop – 2
RnB – 3
Rock – 9
Pop – 9
Heavy metal – 5
Reggae – 1
Classical – 1

Yes -17
No – 13

Everyday – 8
A few times a week – 8
Once a week – 18

Less than 10 – 0
11-15 – 2
16 – 20 – 20
21 – 30 – 3
31 – 40 – 5
40 – 50 – 0
50 + - 0

Artist – 12
Dancing – 3
Narrative – 11
Live footage – 4
Other – 0

Kerrang – 10
Q – 3
MTV – 5
Bliss – 1
Scuzz – 5
Lava – 0
Flava – 2
Starz – 3
Other – 0

Yes – 25
No – 5

Yes – 19
No - 11

Favourite music videos and why:
Lady Gaga – Pokerface – because it shows the artist’s personality well
Blink 182 – All The Small Things - Comical
Red hot chilli peppers – California dreaming – Classic video, easy to follow
Ed Sheeran – You need me – Sign language is different to other videos
White stripes – 7 nation army – graphic effects and computer editing
Young Guns – Winter Kiss – Location is interesting
He is we – Happy ending – Story is cute

Least favourite music videos and why:
Maroon 5 - moves like Jagger - because the storyline wasn't very clear
Katy Perry - Firework - wasn't like her usual videos
Paramore - Only Exception - Boring
White Stripes - 7 nation army - confusing and made their eyes hurt
Nicole Scherzinger - Wet - Too revealing

What do you think was the most popular music video during 2010 and 2011?:
Lad Gaga - Love Game

Why people use Youtube:
Easily accesible
Free
Don't have to sit through videos you don't want to watch like on TV
You can find artists that aren't always on the TV
You can make playlists
You can add favourites

Music video questionnaire

Are you male or female?
Male
Female

How old are you?
10 or under
11-15
16-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51 or over

What is your favorite genre of music?
Hip hop
RnB
Rock
Pop
Heavy Metal
Reggae
Classical

Do you watch music videos?
Yes
No

If so, how often?
Every day
A few times a week
Once a week



What do you like most about the music videos you’ve watched in the past?
Seeing your favourite artist on the television
The dancing
The narrative/storyline
Seeing live and tour footage
Other (please state below)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

What is your favourite music video?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

What is your least favourite music video?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

When watching music channels, which ones do you watch?
Kerrang!
Q
MTV
Bliss
Scuzz
Lava
Flava
Starz
Other (please state below)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

What do you think was the most popular music video during 2010 and 2011?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Do you use youtube to watch music videos?
Yes
No

If so, why?
___________________________________________________________________