Music Video Don't go breaking my heart

Music Video lip syncing practice. 

When filming for our music video we took with us, a camera, a prop microphone, a dolly and a tripod, with this we went and filmed, however the locations were not very varied due to budget and time. We tried to vary our takes in order to create an energetic video. The props we used was simply a microphone which relates closely to the original video as it contains nothing but the singers and microphone. We shot the entire video several times using different angles, rather than filming individual parts of the song with different angles, this was to ensure that we could affectively sync it up and that there were no rough spots.

When editing I decided it would be best to put the clips together onto separate lines to make it easier with syncing them up. I layered the clips to ensure that I got them as close as humanly possible, from there I'd cut them down bit by bit until it fit, changing the lengths to fit to my image of what I wanted it to be.

I found that there was a mistake that I luckily corrected before finalisation, where i'd used the same clip multiple times, which caused it to not sync at all and look out of place.

From doing this I have learnt a great deal about the editing process of a music video, how many cuts there need to be, how frequently, and how difficult it is to actually sync up the lyrics to the person in the video. I feel that from this I can produce higher quality work that hopefully looks more like an actual music video rather than a school copy.

Types of music

Mainstream music is able to be separated into two different groups, Organic and Synthetic.

Organic

Organic music tends to be a band or group that started themselves, usually in trial and error until they find the correct style and band members for what they want to do. They will then try and get signed, from this point it's fairly simple to just make music which the record label would then go on to sell.

Organic Music is known primarily to cater towards niche audiences, sometimes finding itself into the hands of major audiences. Most people recognize these people as those who believe the music comes first, such as the Beatles or radio head.

The Beatles started out originally as a smaller group that came together over a number of years, they played in hamburg, In Germany for a year before returning home to Liverpool.

They are considered an Organic group due to the way they started, Their music is written by themselves and they were formed on their own. This is in contrast to a Synthetic music group.

Synthetic

A synthetic group is set up with the "Xfactor" methodology. This is where it isn't put together through love for music, but instead to milk an audience for as much profit as possible. In contrast to my last example, The Monkeys were set up with the same idea of The Beatles, this was done so much so that they even had the same hair style. In lesser extreme cases they value money over music, and the record label is in charge, however with The Monkeys they went so far that they didn't even play their own instruments, let alone write their own songs.  

Other manufactured artists would be One Direction, this is a group set up by Simon Cowell to extort teenage girls and gain as much profit as they can with a gap in the market. 

Foo Fighters Animatic

For our Foo Fighters animatic we had to first draw a storyboard, this consisted of a number of drawn clips that depict each scene change. We then had to sync the pictures up to the song. We then had to cut the clips down so that the drawn pictures changed at the same time the actual music video did.

From this we learnt how to effectively use adobe premiere to create the video and how to export it. However we also learnt a lot about animatics and how they are made. We learnt how many times a music video actually changes scene. I personally have learnt how to notice minor changes in music videos and how they conduct themselves

When editing a music video compared to a thriller, you must keep in mind how fast the song is. This means that if a music video is fast such as the foo fighters one we recently did an animatic for, you must have extremely fast cuts. This means that you could possibly have clips that are only one second long. Whereas in a thriller, you may need to have long drawn out scenes, this can only have a few cuts as to add suspense but also because it would not make sense to have very quick cuts unless something major was to happen.

Types of Music Video.

Narrative

Here Without You - 3 Doors Down

Narrative is the type of music video in which a story is told. This is easily confused with cinematic as they both have a high production value. Narrative stands out however as the song relates specifically with what is happening within the music video. A good example of this is Here Without You by 3 Door Down. This is because the song tells the story of a man splitting up with his wife, the story is the pain of missing someone and the music video runs parallel with that. The song tells the audience that it is not about how long you've been apart, but the actual pain of missing them.

Cinematic

Thriller - Michael Jackson

Cinematic is a music video that doesn't tell a story but instead has an extremely high production value. Thriller is a classic example of this as it focuses on high production value but doesn't tell a story. The main way you can recognise if a music video is a cinematic one is by seeing if it looks like it belongs in a movie rather than a music video.


Live

Mumford and Sons - I Will Wait

This is a very good example of a live music video. This is where a music video is not specifically et anywhere but instead is like it is performed live at a concert where there is a live audience. This is usually done by taking clips from a previous concert where the artist had performed the song and then playing it over the clip.

Animation

The Little Mermaid - Under the Sea

Animation speaks quite clearly about what it is. This is a song that is placed over an animated piece, usually from big films such as Disney. The example shown is Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid. This is a good example as it is a popular song placed entirely over a animated piece.


Studio

Monster - Meg & Dia

A studio music video is when it is based in one room or location and doesn't move. Monster by Meg & Dia is a good example as it shows the band staying in one room throughout the entire song where the action happens.

An introduction to record companies.

The music Industry is dominated by four multi-national corporations. These are;

• EMI

EMI has signed artists such as;

• Gorillaz (Parlophone)
• Great White (Capitol)
• Michael Franti and Spearhead (Parlophone)
• Ice Cube (Lench Mob Records)

• Sony Music

Sony Music has signed artists such as;

• Kenny G
• KLa Project (Indonesia)
• Jimi Hendrix
• James Arthur

• Universal

Universal has signed artists such as;

• Ariana Grande
• Ashlee Simpson
• Babyface
• Blue

• Warner Brothers

They are known as  the Majors, Most of the majors own smaller companies. These are called the Major Independents, known as;

• Columbia

• Island

• Syco

• RCA

• Virgin

Besides from Major Independents, there are independents. These can be people who did not want to become owned by a Major or haven't been picked up by a Major. An example would be;

• Domino Records

• Lapfox Trax

• HARDCORE TANO*C

A Major is a company that is very large and tends to own smaller labels to increase their range and profits from the music industry. To do  this they approach an independent that they feel like they can get money from and offer to buy part of the company, offering money in return. This gives an independent the opportunity to expand and earn more money.

Brief

I am going to produce;

A music promo video that lasts up to five minutes long, this is going to be done in a group that uses an outside person for the main part of the video, whilst those in my class with me will work on the behind the scenes parts.

I am also going to produce;

A digipak, that has six panels for its release on CD and also a magazine advertisement for the digipak. Once this is all complete I will be making a critical evaluation of the promo video.

Welcome Post

Welcome to my A2 Music Video Blog. Here you'll find a ton of work done by me and only be based on what I get told to do. It'll be of good quality because that's how I rock.
For the A2 course I have to create a Music video to either an unsigned artists song, or a signed artists song granted I have permission. It needs to last between 3 minutes, to 3 minutes and thirty seconds. I cannot do Rap or Country as these would be too difficult.
 So without further adieu. Greetings!