Friday, 10 December 2010
NEW SONG SELECTION
Joy Division - Disorder
We were keen to work on a Joy Division song because they struck us a band who were interesting, iconic and well... good.
Our initial ideas for song choices were the songs "She Lost Control", "Disorder" and "New Dawn Fades". In contrast to last time, we decided to come up with a strong concept and idea first, and only then attribute that idea to a song. A concept doesn't always have to link directly to the lyrics, so it meant we could work that way round. Our key influence for the concept was music video director Anton Corbijn.
After considering factors such as song length, we decided upon using the song Disorder. Our basic idea was a narrative/concept video focusing on a character recovering from (probably) a drug addiction. Drug addictions are key points for creativity and abstract artistic films such as Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, Requiem For A Dream and Trainspotting. The idea of "cold turkey" struck us an interesting one as it had more of an immediate impact on the audience. As mentioned earlier in the censorship blog, drugs would not be referenced in any clear-cut fashion, instead we would have to be much more subtle.
The video would feature our protagonists in different locations - confined ones and isolated ones. This would signify his changing moods in dealing with his addiction. Alongside this, we would intercut shots of our protagonist possibly walking along a bridge (or some sort of a journey) signifying the other events are going on in his mind. Our video would have non-linear narrative again showing an artistic side.
Our idea capsulates the drama and tension of Joy Division and especially Ian Curtis' vocals. We also plan to subtely signify links between our protagonist and Curtis, signifying his struggles before his tragic taking of his own life. If we did do this we would want it to be as accurate and respectable as possible as to not offend and/or upset anyone. More research will be needed so that our video fits perfectly alongside Joy Division's past efforts.
The song can be heard below:
Our initial ideas for song choices were the songs "She Lost Control", "Disorder" and "New Dawn Fades". In contrast to last time, we decided to come up with a strong concept and idea first, and only then attribute that idea to a song. A concept doesn't always have to link directly to the lyrics, so it meant we could work that way round. Our key influence for the concept was music video director Anton Corbijn.
After considering factors such as song length, we decided upon using the song Disorder. Our basic idea was a narrative/concept video focusing on a character recovering from (probably) a drug addiction. Drug addictions are key points for creativity and abstract artistic films such as Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, Requiem For A Dream and Trainspotting. The idea of "cold turkey" struck us an interesting one as it had more of an immediate impact on the audience. As mentioned earlier in the censorship blog, drugs would not be referenced in any clear-cut fashion, instead we would have to be much more subtle.
The video would feature our protagonists in different locations - confined ones and isolated ones. This would signify his changing moods in dealing with his addiction. Alongside this, we would intercut shots of our protagonist possibly walking along a bridge (or some sort of a journey) signifying the other events are going on in his mind. Our video would have non-linear narrative again showing an artistic side.Our idea capsulates the drama and tension of Joy Division and especially Ian Curtis' vocals. We also plan to subtely signify links between our protagonist and Curtis, signifying his struggles before his tragic taking of his own life. If we did do this we would want it to be as accurate and respectable as possible as to not offend and/or upset anyone. More research will be needed so that our video fits perfectly alongside Joy Division's past efforts.
The song can be heard below:
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Music Video - Group Idea
Pink Floyd - See Emily Play
Pink Floyd were a psychadelic-prog rock band founded in 1965 in England. They split up in 1996, but played a one off re-union performance at Live 8 in 2005.
"See Emily Play" was the second single released by Pink Floyd. Apparently the song was written by Syd Barrett about a girl he saw in the woods after taking a psychadelic drug, although he later confessed to this story being made up. People also have suggested that the song is in fact about a girl he knew from when he was younger who had died.
Our idea for the video was to have our protagonist have psychadelic dreams about this girl. It would be mainly narrative lead although because of the genre, there is a big opportunity to do more concept driven elements. We would use locations such as those mentioned in Barrett's story, for example on the Moor or in the woods. This would help both signify the protagonist's confusion and also again link back to the lyrics. Abstract imagery would again work well, possibly featuring overlapping shots or even time lapse imagery.
We would use weird vivid colours to help signify the drugs and psychadelia, with the girl in white to connote her fragility. We would possibly show the girl singing the lyrics faded on to other imagery, though this is just a brief idea at the moment.
For further inspiration we plan to look at Pearl Jam's Jeremy (which features a similar story), Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box (which has the correct colour scheme and imagery) and also perhaps Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Zephyr Song (which again channels the psychadelic appeal). It is hard to find more directly linked songs, as Pink Flod themselves didn't have music videos so perhaps looking at fan-made videos will be a useful alternative.
"See Emily Play" was the second single released by Pink Floyd. Apparently the song was written by Syd Barrett about a girl he saw in the woods after taking a psychadelic drug, although he later confessed to this story being made up. People also have suggested that the song is in fact about a girl he knew from when he was younger who had died.
Our idea for the video was to have our protagonist have psychadelic dreams about this girl. It would be mainly narrative lead although because of the genre, there is a big opportunity to do more concept driven elements. We would use locations such as those mentioned in Barrett's story, for example on the Moor or in the woods. This would help both signify the protagonist's confusion and also again link back to the lyrics. Abstract imagery would again work well, possibly featuring overlapping shots or even time lapse imagery.
We would use weird vivid colours to help signify the drugs and psychadelia, with the girl in white to connote her fragility. We would possibly show the girl singing the lyrics faded on to other imagery, though this is just a brief idea at the moment.For further inspiration we plan to look at Pearl Jam's Jeremy (which features a similar story), Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box (which has the correct colour scheme and imagery) and also perhaps Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Zephyr Song (which again channels the psychadelic appeal). It is hard to find more directly linked songs, as Pink Flod themselves didn't have music videos so perhaps looking at fan-made videos will be a useful alternative.
Monday, 29 November 2010
Getting into Groups
Myself (Jonny Hughes)(far left): I love artistic style films and likewise, music videos. My main influence is the amazing Darren Aronofsky. For our music video production, I will be acting as director.
Check out my AS blog here.
Or check out this year's blog here.
Joel Colborne (centre): I worked with Joel on last year's successful AS film opening "A Bat in the Belfry", and we have worked on a few short films since. Joel also likes psychological thrillers, as well as a lot of British indie films. His main focus is on the cinematography side of things although here he will act as Director of Photography as well as being in the cast.
Check out his blog here.
Callum Moreman (right): We haven't worked with Callum before and he doesn't necessarily have the same taste as us. That being said, we were extremely impressed with his work last year on the Rom-Com "Not a Chance", especially as he was working individually. He is also very practical and keeps on top of his work, so will be a great addition to the team. Callum will be working behind the camera as cinematographer.
Check out Callum's blog here.
Below is a brief video in which we all quickly discuss who we are and what we can bring to the group. Enjoy.
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Actual Music Video Pitch
Idea #1: The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again
I wanted to do a concept music video in the style of another Smiths song - "Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before". I liked the idea of doing a concept video as it allows for seriously artistic music videos. Though I didn't have a strong enough concept at this point, I felt that the song would be one to inspire ideas when working in a group.
The concept I had initially involved people all walking around staring into the sky. A single man alone would walk around looking in front of him. Possibly a trail of arrows would be laid out in front of him which he would follow, eventually leading him to a spot where one girl sits and waits. The basic concept was to do with people becoming so obsessed with the search for something more, that they can't actually see what's in front of them. To some extent, they're ignorant. It also included aspects of the search for acceptance.
More closely linking to the lyrics I thought of another concept where the central protagonist walks down a street handcuffed with everyone he walks past sneering and jeering at him. Again one girl takes pity on him, and they run away searching for a safe place. This concept focused on people harshly scrutinising people whatever they do.
Idea #2: Brand New - Untitled 2 (Morrissey Song)
Nicknamed "Morrissey song" both because of singer Jesse Lacey's obsession with Smiths singer Morrissey and also because of clear links in the sound to that of The Smiths themselves, I planned to play on that concept.
In a style similar to that of tv programme Life On Mars, our central protagonist would be sent back to the 80s. The narrative would follow them in their attempts to understand and break out of the era. The problem with this idea is the huge amount of set dressing required in order to accurately signify (with verisimilitude) the 1980's.
The concept I had initially involved people all walking around staring into the sky. A single man alone would walk around looking in front of him. Possibly a trail of arrows would be laid out in front of him which he would follow, eventually leading him to a spot where one girl sits and waits. The basic concept was to do with people becoming so obsessed with the search for something more, that they can't actually see what's in front of them. To some extent, they're ignorant. It also included aspects of the search for acceptance.
More closely linking to the lyrics I thought of another concept where the central protagonist walks down a street handcuffed with everyone he walks past sneering and jeering at him. Again one girl takes pity on him, and they run away searching for a safe place. This concept focused on people harshly scrutinising people whatever they do.
Idea #2: Brand New - Untitled 2 (Morrissey Song)
Nicknamed "Morrissey song" both because of singer Jesse Lacey's obsession with Smiths singer Morrissey and also because of clear links in the sound to that of The Smiths themselves, I planned to play on that concept.In a style similar to that of tv programme Life On Mars, our central protagonist would be sent back to the 80s. The narrative would follow them in their attempts to understand and break out of the era. The problem with this idea is the huge amount of set dressing required in order to accurately signify (with verisimilitude) the 1980's.
Monday, 22 November 2010
The Cure - Friday I'm In Love
We were given the task of creating a music video as a class in our school. Because of this I felt that the song "Friday, I'm In Love" by The Cure would be an ideal candidate as it deals with days of the week.Bearing in mind the location of a school, I felt that an idea we could do successfully could be based around a Romantic Comedy storyline. As the storyline does not vary very often in highschool romances, we would be able to have a very clear idea in mind. We would use the stereotypical characters and conventions of the genre. We could reference other films or music videos as this would increase audience appeal.
It fits with the song, as the theme and idea is a very-lighted one just like the actual song. Though the band themselves have reputations for being goths, very often their music was upbeat such as on this song, "Just Like Heaven" and "Lovecats". I felt my video would help capture that mood well. The Cure are also well known for their eccentric personas so this kind of of aspect could be incorporated into my video, as clearly the tone isn't the most serious.
Not personally being keen on the rom-com genre, I actually came up with this idea as I felt that it would have a large appeal to most people in the class. Unfortunately my idea wasn't picked, which would suggest rom-coms possible aren't popular with media students?
Below is the actual video for this song, released by the Cure in 1992.
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