Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Friday, 30 April 2010
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Evaluation
When we decided to make our music video, we wanted to push the barriers, be creative and go against the normal conventions. We had many ideas of what to do, but they were all very conventional. After many hours of trying to think of new, fresh and original idears, we came up with ANIMATION. The use of personal family pictures, other images and transitions was the key idea for our video. We thought this was the best way to portray the poetical, imaginative concept of the band. Originally we were going to incorporate some footage in the video, but apart from the opening scene, we decided to use only animation. The reason for this decision was to challenge media forms and conventions of most other music videos and also to challenge ourselves and to also create the correct video for such a statement band like The Crookes. The Crookes have a very distinct image and indie/pop sound and a very original personality to the band. We began to collect photographs from my family albums, of my great grandparents, all dating back to the 1950’s/1960’s. This really helped me feel the emotion of the song as the video now has a very personal meaning to me. The photographs really showed the old feeling for the band, portraying the old style clothing they dress in.
The video ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ from the Maccabees was the main inspiration for us. This is the only successful band we have seen that has used this sort of animation for a video. Looking through their list of videos, we saw that they also like to push the barriers and challenge conventions by being creative and challenging the normal video conventions.
The first and main way in which our video challenges conventions is that it is solely animation. By animation I mean that the story of the video is told through manipulating images and creating motion to tell the story of the song. We used many tools to enhance the colour and look of the images. We knew that we needed to keep a narrative going through the video so we needed to keep the transitions of the photos smooth and fluid, if not the story would not be created. We wanted to make it like a moving photo album and creating scenes of what was happening.
I feel that the photos tell the story of two young people coming together, then the struggle in the middle as the family falls apart, with the happy ending as they get back together. This follows Todorov's theory behind music videos. He calls is the Classical Narrative. He says that a music video starts with Equilibrium (the normal state at the beginning. Any opposing forces are in balance) followed by the Dis-equilibrium (An action or conflict introduced into the narrative) and finally followed by the New-equilibrium (where the conflict is resolved and the narrative strands are tied together). The Equilibrium is shown in our video through the use of love hearts, doves and emotive words. The Dis-equilibrium is shown in our video through the use of rain clouds, the family splitting up and the father walking away. The New-equilibrium is also showed in our video mainly when the audience saw the family re-uniting.
Following this format may mean that we did in fact follow conventions, but we just portrayed it in an unconventional way. It would have been conventional if we had used Todorov's theory and filmed it in a studio with the artists etc. I feel that although we followed convention with the narrative, but developing it by using animation.
There is a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in our music video. With the video consisting of animation and imagery the photographs and brush tools that we included in our video have a clear relationship with the lyrics.
Throughout the video certain lyrics are represented by animated scenes and words on the screen to enhance the lyrics and create a relationship between them. Also a certain points in the video we have included words and text which reflect certain lyrics and again enhances the importance of the lyrics due to it holding the essence of the narrative .
There is also a clear relationship between the Music and the Visuals. At the beginning of the song the beat is slow and subtle and the imagery and animation that we used worked in relation to this. However as we reach the climax of the song the beat begins to increase and the track gets quicker in speed. Due to this we also enhanced the speed of our animation and also reversed particular parts of animation to show the dramatic change in the music and the visuals. Due to this change there is definitely a clear relationship between the music and the visuals in our music video for the Crookes, Chorus of Fools. 
Throughout the production tasks I have tried to keep a consistent theme throughout my work. The video relied heavily on pictures, black and white images, sepia tones and fonts, therefore I have tried to incorporate this is both my Digipak and Magazine Advert. I think it is essential to keep the house style as it will keep our target audience interested.
I feel that the Digipak sticks to the house style and theme of the video particularly well as I have incorporated many of the images used in the video, on the front cover of the Digipak itself. I decided to create a collage of images for my front cover as I didn't think it would be right to go with a traditional front cover image of the band, as we didn't incorporate a image of the band in the video, therefore it would have looked out of place.
I think it was essential to keep the house style throughout all the material linked with the video, as it keeps the strong theme evident throughout.
When making the magazine article I kept the same colours and fonts throughout and a picture of the Digipak. On the magazine article I have not incorporated any images apart from the Digipak itself, but the house style is followed through.
Throughout the video, Digipak and magazine advert I have kept Monotype Conversia font. I feel that this font represents the band and as it was used in the video, I wanted to keep it strong throughout the project. I think it is essential to keep the house style throughout as it shows that they all go together and represent the same band and song. The idea of the magazine article was to advertise the Digipak, in which the Digipak included our video. For the audience it wouldn't have many sense if they didn't all have to same house style, to show they are all for the same thing. I feel that I have created an effective project in which all the materials work together and represent the band well.
Due to The Crookes being a young, unsigned band with the pop/indie vibe that they carry i knew that they would have a strong target audience. I believe that the target audience for The Crookes would people aged between 15-30 who have an interest in bands. I know that knowing your target audience is very important when making a music video and portraying the band simply so the right people would know of the band and what they have produced. The video has to match the style and theme of the band and their track. This is why we found that using photographs from the 1950s and the sepia tone would be most affective; it works great in combination with the track and should therefore appeal to the bands target audience. To make sure this was achieved, I created a survey on surveymonkey to achieve audience feedback.
Audience feedback about our video has been very positive. It seems that the audience believe that it was a good idea to use animation and they also said that the video fitted in with the style of song. They all agreed that the Indie feel of the band was portrayed well by using animation. It seems that the audience feel that the video is very creative and using the old photos was effective.
The majority of feedback on the Survey Monkey suggested that most people expected our video to be shown on music channels and YouTube. I was very happy with this as the audience obviously believe it has the potential to be shown on music channels with professional videos.
The Crookes have also commented on the video, and really liked the fact that we used animation as they were not available to appear in the video themselves. They said they enjoyed watching the video and liked the creativity. We have also found out since we completed the video, that The Crookes themselves have now had a video professionally made and have used the same animation format as we did.
From the audience survey I have conducted on Survey Monkey, I have not had any negative feedback, but obviously I know the video is not perfect and there would be a few things looking back on it that I would change.
During the video making process, we used many new, as well as ones we already knew, technologies to complete it. The biggest hurdle we came across was using Adobe Premiere Pro. Firstly, we had never used Premiere before, and had also been made aware that it was not a programme predominantly used for animation. We had to learn many new techniques in Premiere, including how to move, crop, colour change, rotate and scale images. 
The video ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ from the Maccabees was the main inspiration for us. This is the only successful band we have seen that has used this sort of animation for a video. Looking through their list of videos, we saw that they also like to push the barriers and challenge conventions by being creative and challenging the normal video conventions.
The first and main way in which our video challenges conventions is that it is solely animation. By animation I mean that the story of the video is told through manipulating images and creating motion to tell the story of the song. We used many tools to enhance the colour and look of the images. We knew that we needed to keep a narrative going through the video so we needed to keep the transitions of the photos smooth and fluid, if not the story would not be created. We wanted to make it like a moving photo album and creating scenes of what was happening.
I feel that this idea challenges conventions of most music videos in a great way.
By challenging conventions, I mean that we went against what you may call the ‘traditional’ music video.
The ‘traditional’ music video would feature the artist, maybe lip synching to the song, and the story would be told though the acting of the artist along with extras. It would usually be the lip synch of the lyrics which tell the story, whereas in our video we have used photos and other symbolic images to create the story and narrative.
‘Chorus of Fools’ is a song about relationships and how they break up and form back together through any difficu lties they may face along the way.
By challenging conventions, I mean that we went against what you may call the ‘traditional’ music video.
The ‘traditional’ music video would feature the artist, maybe lip synching to the song, and the story would be told though the acting of the artist along with extras. It would usually be the lip synch of the lyrics which tell the story, whereas in our video we have used photos and other symbolic images to create the story and narrative.
‘Chorus of Fools’ is a song about relationships and how they break up and form back together through any difficu lties they may face along the way.
I feel that the photos tell the story of two young people coming together, then the struggle in the middle as the family falls apart, with the happy ending as they get back together. This follows Todorov's theory behind music videos. He calls is the Classical Narrative. He says that a music video starts with Equilibrium (the normal state at the beginning. Any opposing forces are in balance) followed by the Dis-equilibrium (An action or conflict introduced into the narrative) and finally followed by the New-equilibrium (where the conflict is resolved and the narrative strands are tied together). The Equilibrium is shown in our video through the use of love hearts, doves and emotive words. The Dis-equilibrium is shown in our video through the use of rain clouds, the family splitting up and the father walking away. The New-equilibrium is also showed in our video mainly when the audience saw the family re-uniting.
Following this format may mean that we did in fact follow conventions, but we just portrayed it in an unconventional way. It would have been conventional if we had used Todorov's theory and filmed it in a studio with the artists etc. I feel that although we followed convention with the narrative, but developing it by using animation.
There is a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in our music video. With the video consisting of animation and imagery the photographs and brush tools that we included in our video have a clear relationship with the lyrics.
Throughout the video certain lyrics are represented by animated scenes and words on the screen to enhance the lyrics and create a relationship between them. Also a certain points in the video we have included words and text which reflect certain lyrics and again enhances the importance of the lyrics due to it holding the essence of the narrative .
There is also a clear relationship between the Music and the Visuals. At the beginning of the song the beat is slow and subtle and the imagery and animation that we used worked in relation to this. However as we reach the climax of the song the beat begins to increase and the track gets quicker in speed. Due to this we also enhanced the speed of our animation and also reversed particular parts of animation to show the dramatic change in the music and the visuals. Due to this change there is definitely a clear relationship between the music and the visuals in our music video for the Crookes, Chorus of Fools.
Throughout the production tasks I have tried to keep a consistent theme throughout my work. The video relied heavily on pictures, black and white images, sepia tones and fonts, therefore I have tried to incorporate this is both my Digipak and Magazine Advert. I think it is essential to keep the house style as it will keep our target audience interested.
I feel that the Digipak sticks to the house style and theme of the video particularly well as I have incorporated many of the images used in the video, on the front cover of the Digipak itself. I decided to create a collage of images for my front cover as I didn't think it would be right to go with a traditional front cover image of the band, as we didn't incorporate a image of the band in the video, therefore it would have looked out of place.
I think it was essential to keep the house style throughout all the material linked with the video, as it keeps the strong theme evident throughout.
When making the magazine article I kept the same colours and fonts throughout and a picture of the Digipak. On the magazine article I have not incorporated any images apart from the Digipak itself, but the house style is followed through.
Throughout the video, Digipak and magazine advert I have kept Monotype Conversia font. I feel that this font represents the band and as it was used in the video, I wanted to keep it strong throughout the project. I think it is essential to keep the house style throughout as it shows that they all go together and represent the same band and song. The idea of the magazine article was to advertise the Digipak, in which the Digipak included our video. For the audience it wouldn't have many sense if they didn't all have to same house style, to show they are all for the same thing. I feel that I have created an effective project in which all the materials work together and represent the band well.
Due to The Crookes being a young, unsigned band with the pop/indie vibe that they carry i knew that they would have a strong target audience. I believe that the target audience for The Crookes would people aged between 15-30 who have an interest in bands. I know that knowing your target audience is very important when making a music video and portraying the band simply so the right people would know of the band and what they have produced. The video has to match the style and theme of the band and their track. This is why we found that using photographs from the 1950s and the sepia tone would be most affective; it works great in combination with the track and should therefore appeal to the bands target audience. To make sure this was achieved, I created a survey on surveymonkey to achieve audience feedback.
Audience feedback about our video has been very positive. It seems that the audience believe that it was a good idea to use animation and they also said that the video fitted in with the style of song. They all agreed that the Indie feel of the band was portrayed well by using animation. It seems that the audience feel that the video is very creative and using the old photos was effective.
The majority of feedback on the Survey Monkey suggested that most people expected our video to be shown on music channels and YouTube. I was very happy with this as the audience obviously believe it has the potential to be shown on music channels with professional videos.
The Crookes have also commented on the video, and really liked the fact that we used animation as they were not available to appear in the video themselves. They said they enjoyed watching the video and liked the creativity. We have also found out since we completed the video, that The Crookes themselves have now had a video professionally made and have used the same animation format as we did.
From the audience survey I have conducted on Survey Monkey, I have not had any negative feedback, but obviously I know the video is not perfect and there would be a few things looking back on it that I would change.
During the video making process, we used many new, as well as ones we already knew, technologies to complete it. The biggest hurdle we came across was using Adobe Premiere Pro. Firstly, we had never used Premiere before, and had also been made aware that it was not a programme predominantly used for animation. We had to learn many new techniques in Premiere, including how to move, crop, colour change, rotate and scale images.
Another useful tool we found useful, was when we learnt how to reverse parts of the timeline. We used this at the end of the video when we wanted to reverse some of the previous footage we already had. We also had to decide how we would make the video flow, making the objects move across the screen. We did this by using key frames. We also learnt how to import images from Photoshop, which we had scanned in to the computer, and with the help of our teacher, how to import the track for the video. There were many different tools that we did not know about at the beginning of making the video. We came across a lot of tools simply by trial and error, and as we were not familiar with the programme, this was the best way to do so.
Another programme we used was Adobe Photoshop. We had used this many times before, especially when completing our AS Magazine Project. It took a bit of refreshing our minds to feel comfortable using it again, but it soon came back to us.
We used Photoshop mainly to remove backgrounds from photos and crop images to later import into Premiere. We also used Photoshop to correct flaws on some of the photos as they had a few marks on them as they are very old.
Another useful piece of technology we used was the video camera. Although we didn’t use much footage in our video, we filmed the opening of the video. We used the camera and tripod to film the opening and closing of the book. We used the tripod to make sure the camera was still enough to film to the book well and make it look professional.
Other simple technologies we used throughout the making of the video were programmes such as Microsoft Word and Paint, for simple jobs such as simple cropping and colouring to pictures.
I also had to get to grips with Blogger. We originally used Ning, but felt it was holding us back slightly as we simply did not like the programme. This is when we decided to swap to Blogger as we knew how to use this and could get on with the pre-production straight away. We used Blogger to upload and keep track of all our work, both pre-production and post-production. We learnt how to upload images and other documents such as Google documents and slide share files. We also learnt to import YouTube videos using the embed codes.
I also used Google Documents to help us in pre-production. I chose to use Google Documents to create PowerPoint's and other documents as it made is accessible to use from any computer I may be on. It was a simple programme to use and I found it very helpful. I used Google documents to create PowerPoint’s mainly for pre-production work when researching artists and directors.
Looking back at the video, there would be a few things I would change if I completed it again. I feel that there are a few transitions that look a bit messy that we didn’t realise at the time. Also, at the end we reversed a lot of the footage, but looking back I may have wanted to create newer footage rather than repeating footage.
Looking back at the project as a whole, I think I may wanted to be a bit more organised in the fact that we changed our song, ideas and plans for the video many times which slowed us down in the making process and made us feel a bit rushed towards the end, which looking back could have been easily corrected.
Another programme we used was Adobe Photoshop. We had used this many times before, especially when completing our AS Magazine Project. It took a bit of refreshing our minds to feel comfortable using it again, but it soon came back to us.
We used Photoshop mainly to remove backgrounds from photos and crop images to later import into Premiere. We also used Photoshop to correct flaws on some of the photos as they had a few marks on them as they are very old.
Another useful piece of technology we used was the video camera. Although we didn’t use much footage in our video, we filmed the opening of the video. We used the camera and tripod to film the opening and closing of the book. We used the tripod to make sure the camera was still enough to film to the book well and make it look professional.
Other simple technologies we used throughout the making of the video were programmes such as Microsoft Word and Paint, for simple jobs such as simple cropping and colouring to pictures.
I also had to get to grips with Blogger. We originally used Ning, but felt it was holding us back slightly as we simply did not like the programme. This is when we decided to swap to Blogger as we knew how to use this and could get on with the pre-production straight away. We used Blogger to upload and keep track of all our work, both pre-production and post-production. We learnt how to upload images and other documents such as Google documents and slide share files. We also learnt to import YouTube videos using the embed codes.
I also used Google Documents to help us in pre-production. I chose to use Google Documents to create PowerPoint's and other documents as it made is accessible to use from any computer I may be on. It was a simple programme to use and I found it very helpful. I used Google documents to create PowerPoint’s mainly for pre-production work when researching artists and directors.
Looking back at the video, there would be a few things I would change if I completed it again. I feel that there are a few transitions that look a bit messy that we didn’t realise at the time. Also, at the end we reversed a lot of the footage, but looking back I may have wanted to create newer footage rather than repeating footage.
Looking back at the project as a whole, I think I may wanted to be a bit more organised in the fact that we changed our song, ideas and plans for the video many times which slowed us down in the making process and made us feel a bit rushed towards the end, which looking back could have been easily corrected.
Audience Feedback
Audience feedback has been very positive. I collected my research through Survey Monkey.
Magazine Advert
This is my magazine advert for The crookes digipak. I have kept the same fonts and colours throughuot the magazine that also feature on the digipak itself. I have included a picture of the digipak itself, so the audience know what to look out for in the shops. I have kept the advert quite basic, just with enough information to encourage fans to purchase one.
The idea for a magazine advert is to promote a band's new cd/dvdor digipak. They may also be used to promote tour dates for the band. The magazine advert should tie in with the band's image and shoudl create the same impact as other ancillary texts, such as the DVD Digpak and the music video. A magazine advert is essential to promote the bands new material and without this essential promotion, the band would not sell as many copies of their material as they would obviously hope for.
My magazine article keeps the house style of the all the ancillary material I have created to make sure the target audience recognise the fact that all the material fits together. The magazine article i have created includes the bands name, song name and when the digipak will be released. I have also tried to make it look professional by including the logo's of shops the digipak will be available in. 
Digipak
Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Since Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packaging made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media holder is a hub or "Soft Spot" rather than a full plastic tray.
- Wikipedia
Digipaks come in many different shapes and sizes. The typical digipak consists of either 4,6 or 8 panels. I have completed my digipak with 4 sides and an inlay. On the front cover, I have made a collage of the images used in the video, to keep the house style, and the back cover has the list of the tracks and bonus tracks which are in the digipak. The inside features the DVD holder on the right side and the left side is information about the band. The inlay also features information about the band, and upcoming shows.
- Wikipedia
Digipaks come in many different shapes and sizes. The typical digipak consists of either 4,6 or 8 panels. I have completed my digipak with 4 sides and an inlay. On the front cover, I have made a collage of the images used in the video, to keep the house style, and the back cover has the list of the tracks and bonus tracks which are in the digipak. The inside features the DVD holder on the right side and the left side is information about the band. The inlay also features information about the band, and upcoming shows.
The main features of a digipak are:
- myspace/facebook address
- barcode
- record company logo
- live concert footage
- it must look intersting
- blurb on the back that tells you what is inside the digipak
- may feature a picture of the band or an interesting image
- interviews
- information about the band
Friday, 26 March 2010
StoryBoarding..
When trying to create a storyboard, we found it very hard to plan out step by step of what we were gioing to do. We had the idea of what the video would look like and the type of theme we wanted, but especially as we still didn't know every feature on Premiere, therefore we may change things during the production process. We collected many old photographs from my family album ans knew this was the theme we wanted to use throughout the video. The track 'Chorus Of Fools' is about a relationship that is dying out and being reformed again; with many twists and turns along the way. We obviously wanted to portray this as our main theme and by doing this we wanted to use my photographs, animation and any other tools we foud along the way to tell the story.
As mentioned before, the song has a distinct story to it. It ties in with Todorov's theory. He suggested that there is three parts to a music video. Firstly, the Equilibrium: the normal state at the beginning of the text. Any opposing forces are in balance. Secondly, Dis-equilibrium - An action or conflict introduced into the narrative and lastly, the New-equilibrium - the conflict is resolved and the narrative strands are tied together. We used this to decide on the storyboard for the video.
This is where the couple will look back at some fond memories they have had together as they begin to realise they want to get back together as a family. The pair will rekindle their love and the family will slowlt get back together. We will use a reversal tool, in which we will reverse some of the footage we have already used to show the time that has passed and all that has happened in that short time.
Section 7:
Section 7 is the happy ever ending. The family will be re-united and we will use the book footage, as the book closing the end of the story. We will include words and brushes going back into the book to show the happy ending.
TEST FOOTAGE
As mentioned before, the song has a distinct story to it. It ties in with Todorov's theory. He suggested that there is three parts to a music video. Firstly, the Equilibrium: the normal state at the beginning of the text. Any opposing forces are in balance. Secondly, Dis-equilibrium - An action or conflict introduced into the narrative and lastly, the New-equilibrium - the conflict is resolved and the narrative strands are tied together. We used this to decide on the storyboard for the video.
Scene one will start with the opening of a book. The book signifies the 'start of the fairytale'. We will incorporate many different objects in the book (e.g hearts, starts etc.) which will feature in the rest of the video. The book is the only piece of footage we will bring to the video, to keep the animation strong.
Scene Two: 
Scene two is the introduction of the couple. The scene will be a bright, happy scene to signify the happiness of the relationship.
Scene Three:
Scene three is the introduction of the clock. We have decided to use a clock to show time passing as the song lyrics explain about how they are lookin back on their time together. It is also a happy scene as the couple are happily in a relationship.
Scene Four:
This part is where we introduce the 'wedding' scene. This is where the couple will be at their happiest and we will create a cupid/love scene
to create the happiness between the couple.
Scene Five:
This is when we see the family start to dissolve apart. The family will split up and the child will
appear to be alone and upset. We will use symbols and images to create this sad time. We will use clouds and rain in these scenes to move away from the hapiness before and really signify
the sadness that is happening.
Scene Six:
This is where the couple will look back at some fond memories they have had together as they begin to realise they want to get back together as a family. The pair will rekindle their love and the family will slowlt get back together. We will use a reversal tool, in which we will reverse some of the footage we have already used to show the time that has passed and all that has happened in that short time.
Section 7:
Section 7 is the happy ever ending. The family will be re-united and we will use the book footage, as the book closing the end of the story. We will include words and brushes going back into the book to show the happy ending.
TEST FOOTAGE
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Media Attention..
This is a mood board constructed of cut-outs many different music magazine of which The Crookes have featured in.
These are some videos which have featured on numerous websites such as Youtube and LastFM
These are some videos which have featured on numerous websites such as Youtube and LastFM
Conversations With The Band
We conducted all of our conversations and interviews with The Crookes via Email. This was the only realistic way we could do it as the band are extremely busy at the moment touring.
Emails with the band....
Hey, This is Abbi, Amy and Loren. For our A Level Media project we need to make a music video for an unsigned act. We were wondering if we could use one of your tracks? We are intersted in using @Chorus of Fools' or 'A Colliers Wife' if that would be possible? Our media teacher is concerned about copyright as you have released it through Rough Trade. One of our main concerns is that the work would have to be posted on Youtube to be marked, so we want to make sure that this is okay. Do we need to contact your management to confirm? Also, if we cannot use 'A Colliers Wife' is there any others we could use, such as 'Backtreet Lovers'? Thankyou Abbi, Loren and Amy
Hey Abbi,
Thanks for using our tracks, you can use whichever one you want, Rough Trade only own the release not the songs themselves so we have all copyright of them which means we can allow whoever we want to use them. Any song is fine, do you need us to send any mp3s over? Let us know if you do
Alex
Interview....
What’s the origin of your band name?
Well it was mine (Alex) and Daniel's idea really, we lived in Crookes in our first year of university and opposite the road from our accomidation was a sign for 'Crookes' so we went from there really. It was a lazy name and we always meant to change it but I think the chance of a name change has gone now...
How did you come together as a group?
Me and Daniel first met in first year and then we met George and Russell through mutual friends and club nights etc and we went from there.
What genre of music do you consider your work to be?
Interesting question... I guess it would be wrong to call it anything else but pop. Although we're all inspired by a lot of different stuff, its always had a poppy element especially in the melodies.
How would you describe your band in 3 words?
Not Too Serious
What/who influences your musical style?
Erm.. 50's guitar pop like Buddy Holly/Little Richard, 60's motown/pop as in The Beatles, The Kinks and The Ronettes and modern stuff like Richard Hawley, Vampire Weekend and The Shins.
What inspires you?
Musically.. the above, and i guess as all English Literature students we're pretty inspired by different types of literature.
Who writes your songs and how does the writing process work?
Dan writes the lyrics and Alex writes a lot of the music, but it is a collaborative effort when it comes down to putting the song together whihc is arguablly the hardest part.
What are the main themes or topics that arise in your music?
Daniel uses a lot of literary references in the lyrics, the songs are often about fictional people who become the basis for a story. The songs are normally stories opposed to self-indulagent love songs.
How did you develop the unique look of the band?
We have a unique look?! Well if we do its down to having no money and shopping in the cheapest of shops.
Can you describe your gigs; visually and musically?
A lot of energy, lots of dancing, lots of head shaking. Musically, I'm not sure, I think a bit more full -on than many people would expect from a band that started as an acoustic band.
What key events have moulded the direction of the band?
Errr, there has been quite a few. Obviously meeting George was a massive step forward, but from there on in things like going to BBC Studios (Maida Vale) and Abbey Road really made us realise that we all wanted to play in the band as a serious thing.
How does a day in the life of ‘The Crookes’ unravel?
A fair few trips to Co-op, a heafty amount of caffiene, listening to records in the front room and practising in the basement for as long as we can without getting ricketts.
What is the storyline behind the song ‘Chorus of Fools’?
Its a story about a depressed housewife who needs to lament her feelings (I think) and it shows how a relationship has its struggles but also the rewards of it.
What do you think are the most important aspects of a music video?
The editing, I think that even if the content of a video is a bit naff, the editing in line with the music is the most important thing.
Do your lyrics present reality or are they of a fictional nature?
A fictional nature, we all think that writing too many personal songs is a bit arrogant.
What are your aspirations for the future?
Hopefully release an album, and just continue writing and touring really.
Any last words?
Apologies for the late response!
The information form the band has helped us decide exactly what to feature in the video and has confimred our thoughts on what the song is all about.
Emails with the band....
Hey, This is Abbi, Amy and Loren. For our A Level Media project we need to make a music video for an unsigned act. We were wondering if we could use one of your tracks? We are intersted in using @Chorus of Fools' or 'A Colliers Wife' if that would be possible? Our media teacher is concerned about copyright as you have released it through Rough Trade. One of our main concerns is that the work would have to be posted on Youtube to be marked, so we want to make sure that this is okay. Do we need to contact your management to confirm? Also, if we cannot use 'A Colliers Wife' is there any others we could use, such as 'Backtreet Lovers'? Thankyou Abbi, Loren and Amy
Hey Abbi,
Thanks for using our tracks, you can use whichever one you want, Rough Trade only own the release not the songs themselves so we have all copyright of them which means we can allow whoever we want to use them. Any song is fine, do you need us to send any mp3s over? Let us know if you do
Alex
Interview....
What’s the origin of your band name?
Well it was mine (Alex) and Daniel's idea really, we lived in Crookes in our first year of university and opposite the road from our accomidation was a sign for 'Crookes' so we went from there really. It was a lazy name and we always meant to change it but I think the chance of a name change has gone now...
How did you come together as a group?
Me and Daniel first met in first year and then we met George and Russell through mutual friends and club nights etc and we went from there.
What genre of music do you consider your work to be?
Interesting question... I guess it would be wrong to call it anything else but pop. Although we're all inspired by a lot of different stuff, its always had a poppy element especially in the melodies.
How would you describe your band in 3 words?
Not Too Serious
What/who influences your musical style?
Erm.. 50's guitar pop like Buddy Holly/Little Richard, 60's motown/pop as in The Beatles, The Kinks and The Ronettes and modern stuff like Richard Hawley, Vampire Weekend and The Shins.
What inspires you?
Musically.. the above, and i guess as all English Literature students we're pretty inspired by different types of literature.
Who writes your songs and how does the writing process work?
Dan writes the lyrics and Alex writes a lot of the music, but it is a collaborative effort when it comes down to putting the song together whihc is arguablly the hardest part.
What are the main themes or topics that arise in your music?
Daniel uses a lot of literary references in the lyrics, the songs are often about fictional people who become the basis for a story. The songs are normally stories opposed to self-indulagent love songs.
How did you develop the unique look of the band?
We have a unique look?! Well if we do its down to having no money and shopping in the cheapest of shops.
Can you describe your gigs; visually and musically?
A lot of energy, lots of dancing, lots of head shaking. Musically, I'm not sure, I think a bit more full -on than many people would expect from a band that started as an acoustic band.
What key events have moulded the direction of the band?
Errr, there has been quite a few. Obviously meeting George was a massive step forward, but from there on in things like going to BBC Studios (Maida Vale) and Abbey Road really made us realise that we all wanted to play in the band as a serious thing.
How does a day in the life of ‘The Crookes’ unravel?
A fair few trips to Co-op, a heafty amount of caffiene, listening to records in the front room and practising in the basement for as long as we can without getting ricketts.
What is the storyline behind the song ‘Chorus of Fools’?
Its a story about a depressed housewife who needs to lament her feelings (I think) and it shows how a relationship has its struggles but also the rewards of it.
What do you think are the most important aspects of a music video?
The editing, I think that even if the content of a video is a bit naff, the editing in line with the music is the most important thing.
Do your lyrics present reality or are they of a fictional nature?
A fictional nature, we all think that writing too many personal songs is a bit arrogant.
What are your aspirations for the future?
Hopefully release an album, and just continue writing and touring really.
Any last words?
Apologies for the late response!
The information form the band has helped us decide exactly what to feature in the video and has confimred our thoughts on what the song is all about.
Some Of The Photo's To Use In The Video
These photos are all from my family album. These were my Great Grandparents photos dating from around the 1950's. When we came up with the idea of using old photos, these wwere the perfect ones to use. As they were taken about 60 years ago, the look very worn and old and some have some marks on them, but this made them fit even better in the video as they looked authentic.
FINAL Video Idea..
After a lot of thought about incorporating filming in to our music video, we have decided not to. The reason for this is that the video has such a distinct look and feel to it, and we feel that video footage would not be suitable for our video and we would not be able to create the right feel for the video in film. We also think that having lip synch in the video would not look as effective as all animation would, and it wouldn't fit in the video. We feel that only using animation and not footage will evoke the true feeling of The Crookes. We have decided this as we have now started using Adobe Premiere and are getting more familiar with it, therefore finding more tools we can use and more interesting ways to portray The Crookes than we could with footage.
The final idea for the video is that we will tell a story through the pictures. The pictures we have collected are from my family album. They are mainly pictures of my great grandparents and grandparents. The video will be portrayed as a story. Trying to plan the story was difficult as we lacked inspiration slightly and didn't fully understand Premiere Pro, so we decided to get on with the beginning of the video and make these decisions as we went along. This proved to be the right thing to do as our inspiration flourished and the ideas came out as we went along, making it a lot easier to create the story.
These were our initial ideas for the video, but things did change as we created it:
The beginning will be the opening of the book and the story will then unravel. The story is a love story, how two young people fall in love. Obviously there are twists and turns in the relationships and even a split, but it all comes together in the end. Throughout the video, the audience will see how the relationship forms, develops and even briefly ends. The pictures do not need to be edited much as they are from the 1950's, the era we are trying to create, so are all black and white and have a old feel to them. Some photo's which need to be edited, such as cropped or moved around, will be done in Photoshop, then imported into Adobe Premiere. The book at the beginning will be filmed by ourselves, and edited in Premiere
The final idea for the video is that we will tell a story through the pictures. The pictures we have collected are from my family album. They are mainly pictures of my great grandparents and grandparents. The video will be portrayed as a story. Trying to plan the story was difficult as we lacked inspiration slightly and didn't fully understand Premiere Pro, so we decided to get on with the beginning of the video and make these decisions as we went along. This proved to be the right thing to do as our inspiration flourished and the ideas came out as we went along, making it a lot easier to create the story.
These were our initial ideas for the video, but things did change as we created it:
The beginning will be the opening of the book and the story will then unravel. The story is a love story, how two young people fall in love. Obviously there are twists and turns in the relationships and even a split, but it all comes together in the end. Throughout the video, the audience will see how the relationship forms, develops and even briefly ends. The pictures do not need to be edited much as they are from the 1950's, the era we are trying to create, so are all black and white and have a old feel to them. Some photo's which need to be edited, such as cropped or moved around, will be done in Photoshop, then imported into Adobe Premiere. The book at the beginning will be filmed by ourselves, and edited in Premiere
Thoughts for the Video
Our first thoughts for the video are to film at a picturesque, quiet location. The filming will incorporate the story we are trying to portray. It would be very difficult to get The Crookes to star in our video as they are very busy touring at the moment, but we have another local band who would be happy to perform in the band. The idea we have for the video does not incorporate much footage of the band anyway, as we want to keep it quite simple and a but mysterious as to who is in the video to tell the story. By this I mean, the camera angles would be very unusual and inventive, for example, shots of the behind of the person so the sudience do not know who it is. Camera angles like this and the idea of this video would keep in with the feel for the video. We also want to keep the video original and push the conventions of a normal music video by incorporating some animation in the video. The animation would incorporate pictures and text moulded together like a moving photo album to create a flowing storyline.
Initially we thou
ght of filming at Britannia Pier in Great Yarmouth which is a
seaside resort. We thought this would fit in well with the Charlie Chaplin/Maccabbees theme. We also looked at Wroxham Broads as a possible setting as it is very quiet and peaceful location.
-----------------------------------------------
We have looked into Britannia Pier in great detail and have decided that it is probably not suitable. Originally we thought Brittania Pier was unspoilt and unmodernised. We have looked into this and it has been modernised alot, therefore not suiting the bands image or the ideas we had for the video.
We have looked at many alternative locations including:
- Elm Hill, Norwich and
- Wroxham Broads (pictures above)
The main problem we are facing in filming outside is obviously the weather. Ideally our video would be set outdoors as we think this would work will and really tell the story, but if the lighting isn't right, it could spoil it. The only other option is to film it in the studio. The main idea for a studio video would have to be as if the band are performing, but we could possibly add some extra footage in with the band at different locations.
Initially we thou
ght of filming at Britannia Pier in Great Yarmouth which is aseaside resort. We thought this would fit in well with the Charlie Chaplin/Maccabbees theme. We also looked at Wroxham Broads as a possible setting as it is very quiet and peaceful location.
-----------------------------------------------
We have looked into Britannia Pier in great detail and have decided that it is probably not suitable. Originally we thought Brittania Pier was unspoilt and unmodernised. We have looked into this and it has been modernised alot, therefore not suiting the bands image or the ideas we had for the video.
We have looked at many alternative locations including:
- Elm Hill, Norwich and
- Wroxham Broads (pictures above)
The main problem we are facing in filming outside is obviously the weather. Ideally our video would be set outdoors as we think this would work will and really tell the story, but if the lighting isn't right, it could spoil it. The only other option is to film it in the studio. The main idea for a studio video would have to be as if the band are performing, but we could possibly add some extra footage in with the band at different locations.
Chrous of Fools Lyrics
Chorus of Fools Lyrics, complete with annotation to guide our music video idea. We particularly like the reference to light and dark, and the idea of coldness... These ideas we will play with in our music video production- We love how these aspects fit in with the fact that this song is about a break up of a relationship.We can play with the idea of fate that is mentioned throughout the song and the poetic imagery of which is built up throughout. The lyrics are a great basis for us to play with and evolve our initial ideas when hearing the song.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Branding
In Music Videos.
Branding is especially important in music videos; it involves promotion of the band/artist and focuses on pushing forward their own visual representation. Music videos not only show off the bands own style, it also can present the band and give them recognition relating to success and status.
In a narrative music video, this can be used in order to market the band, usually these videos are more suggestive, rather than realistic, making it easier for the audience to watch the video over and over and wanting to keep watching it. This is important as a way to draw in the audience, as real life will not be as interesting to the audience, therefore would not draw them in as much. Repeatability is also very important in music videos, in order to market the band, this is needed to stick ideas in their mind; this can relate to representation of the band and how they are perceived by the public. The idea of repeatability is usually common in the chorus, with a range of shots that are shown numerous times, making it stick in the audiences mind.
Record labels can use an artists music video to change the audience perceptions of the band, and they use this tool to do so often.Videos can be used to increase sales, consolidate target audience and even promote other brands or businesses. Music videos are very powerful in terms of branding, whether it is the artist or other contributors; it can be a very clever aspect of the music industry to develop the persona of the artists.
Branding goes way beyond just the music video, it is followed through with merchandising, artwork, photography, press releases, logos, performance style and in our music video for The Crookes, we are going to focus on creating a distinct look for the band as a part of the branding and representation of the band. We will be able to mould our music video in order to inform the audience of the bands personal style and to also cater for a specific target audience, to attract the target audience. As we are branding towards niche subcultures it is extremely important that we get our marketing and representation spot on. This is essential as it can determine success. We will use visual elements to relate to the band and the genre of music, and focus on styling and appearance to create a unique look- this is all a huge part of branding, as well as artwork and making sure we focus on the ideas behind, sub-cultures and niche markets. It will be important that in our music video we take ideas from within the bands style, as to draw in the correct target audience. As they have such a distinct style, we will need to show their branding as independent and creative, appealing to their sub-culture. Teh idea for our video itself will hopefully show this brand we are trying to create, as it will not follow conventions.
Branding is especially important in music videos; it involves promotion of the band/artist and focuses on pushing forward their own visual representation. Music videos not only show off the bands own style, it also can present the band and give them recognition relating to success and status.
In a narrative music video, this can be used in order to market the band, usually these videos are more suggestive, rather than realistic, making it easier for the audience to watch the video over and over and wanting to keep watching it. This is important as a way to draw in the audience, as real life will not be as interesting to the audience, therefore would not draw them in as much. Repeatability is also very important in music videos, in order to market the band, this is needed to stick ideas in their mind; this can relate to representation of the band and how they are perceived by the public. The idea of repeatability is usually common in the chorus, with a range of shots that are shown numerous times, making it stick in the audiences mind.
Record labels can use an artists music video to change the audience perceptions of the band, and they use this tool to do so often.Videos can be used to increase sales, consolidate target audience and even promote other brands or businesses. Music videos are very powerful in terms of branding, whether it is the artist or other contributors; it can be a very clever aspect of the music industry to develop the persona of the artists.
Branding goes way beyond just the music video, it is followed through with merchandising, artwork, photography, press releases, logos, performance style and in our music video for The Crookes, we are going to focus on creating a distinct look for the band as a part of the branding and representation of the band. We will be able to mould our music video in order to inform the audience of the bands personal style and to also cater for a specific target audience, to attract the target audience. As we are branding towards niche subcultures it is extremely important that we get our marketing and representation spot on. This is essential as it can determine success. We will use visual elements to relate to the band and the genre of music, and focus on styling and appearance to create a unique look- this is all a huge part of branding, as well as artwork and making sure we focus on the ideas behind, sub-cultures and niche markets. It will be important that in our music video we take ideas from within the bands style, as to draw in the correct target audience. As they have such a distinct style, we will need to show their branding as independent and creative, appealing to their sub-culture. Teh idea for our video itself will hopefully show this brand we are trying to create, as it will not follow conventions.
Codes and Conventions for a Music Video
Music videos are generally made up of a key set of conventions; things that you are most likely to see in music videos, or stereotypically. Generally codes and conventions change according to the genre of the band/artist, however common aspects usually appear and are general to a range of different artists.
General conventions include:-lip syncing or performance-music and tempo drives the editing-genre is reflected via mise-en-scene-lyrics drive the action in the video-digital effects are used to play with images-fast cut montage is one of the most common forms of editing, as a way to enhance repetition.-close ups are used regularly to show the main artist. Many types of settings for videos tend to be quite common. The genre of music has a huge impact on the setting.
Andrew Goodwins theory
There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.- There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography- Record companies will demand a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist
- Voyeurism is present in many music videos, especially in the treatment of females, but also in terms of systems of looking. Some examples are screens within screens, cameras, mirrors, etc.- there are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV texts, these provide further gratification and pleasure for the viewers/fans.
Different types of music videos & conventions
Illustration- illustrated music videos usually include performance or narration and generally illustrate lyrics and visualise the music. This type of music video is quite simple and is also known as ‘denotation’ of the song, it communicates the idea behind the song and the visuals and lyrics are usually closely related.
- Amplification- the conventions of this type of music video combine both music performance and narrative, they tend to amplify the idea behind the music and lyrics and go toward a creative interpretation, not always so simplistic. This type of video generally include quite unique ideas, often with a sense of surrealism or make-believe, however always have a direct to the song, also known as connotative, usually linking to the song, title or artist.Disjuncture- this video type usually concludes of rather abstract ideas, with no true link to the music, title, lyrics or artist. In general these videos are very disjointed from the nature of the song and can have quite a strong effect, if done in an effective manner.
Conventions of performance in music videos and band performance
-Usually these music videos present authenticity in the performance, making the audience believe that they are genuinely playing live.
- This authenticity is communicated via the use of lip syncing and close ups of the lead singer, also communicating status.-Camera shots of the instruments being played is also common.-repetition of shots within the chorus of the song enhances repeatability.- Crane shots are often used to emulate the illusion of view from the audience.
Solo Artist performance
-Usually very staged and choreographed.-Often with a range of dance routines.-Many close up shots of the lead singer.-Cutting between the performance and artist is quite dominant throughout the video.-Lead artist generally takes on the lead role in the video, or as the narrator in storyline.
General conventions include:-lip syncing or performance-music and tempo drives the editing-genre is reflected via mise-en-scene-lyrics drive the action in the video-digital effects are used to play with images-fast cut montage is one of the most common forms of editing, as a way to enhance repetition.-close ups are used regularly to show the main artist. Many types of settings for videos tend to be quite common. The genre of music has a huge impact on the setting.
Andrew Goodwins theory
There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.- There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography- Record companies will demand a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist
- Voyeurism is present in many music videos, especially in the treatment of females, but also in terms of systems of looking. Some examples are screens within screens, cameras, mirrors, etc.- there are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV texts, these provide further gratification and pleasure for the viewers/fans.
Different types of music videos & conventions
Illustration- illustrated music videos usually include performance or narration and generally illustrate lyrics and visualise the music. This type of music video is quite simple and is also known as ‘denotation’ of the song, it communicates the idea behind the song and the visuals and lyrics are usually closely related.
- Amplification- the conventions of this type of music video combine both music performance and narrative, they tend to amplify the idea behind the music and lyrics and go toward a creative interpretation, not always so simplistic. This type of video generally include quite unique ideas, often with a sense of surrealism or make-believe, however always have a direct to the song, also known as connotative, usually linking to the song, title or artist.Disjuncture- this video type usually concludes of rather abstract ideas, with no true link to the music, title, lyrics or artist. In general these videos are very disjointed from the nature of the song and can have quite a strong effect, if done in an effective manner.
Conventions of performance in music videos and band performance
-Usually these music videos present authenticity in the performance, making the audience believe that they are genuinely playing live.
- This authenticity is communicated via the use of lip syncing and close ups of the lead singer, also communicating status.-Camera shots of the instruments being played is also common.-repetition of shots within the chorus of the song enhances repeatability.- Crane shots are often used to emulate the illusion of view from the audience.
Solo Artist performance
-Usually very staged and choreographed.-Often with a range of dance routines.-Many close up shots of the lead singer.-Cutting between the performance and artist is quite dominant throughout the video.-Lead artist generally takes on the lead role in the video, or as the narrator in storyline.
Inspiration And Ideas For The Music Video
The first video that will help in the making process of our new music video is one we actually made ourselves. This project in which we startedc last summer, was a much shorter and quicker project as we literally planned the video in one lesson, and filmed it in the next. We used Adobe Premiere Pro to use basic tools to enhance the video as we were very in-expereinced then. When making the video, I filmed it as classmates performed. We filmed at the beach to an already established band - S Club 7. Although this taks was minor compared to the one we will undertake now, it has helped us understand what we need to do and how much work there will be to complete. Also it has introduced us to Premiere which I'm sure will help when making the
new video.
Idea One:
Our first idea for our music video for The Crookes was mainly inspired by the work of Charlie Chaplin, the use of black and white tones and 1930s style and influence. Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in Chaplin's view, by the efficiencies of modern industrialization. When we first saw this video we immidiatly thought of the Crookes and how much of an influence Charlie Chaplin and his work, in particular Modern Times, has on our work. When we first heard The Crookes we thought of black and white theme and an old 30s/50s style video to compliment their work.
We initially liked the idea of using fast paced movement in a 'slapstick' kind of way. In 'Modern Times' most of the film was shot at "silent speed", 18 frames per second, which when projected at "sound speed", 24 frames per second, which makes the slapstick action appear even more frenetic.
We also liked that The Crookes seemed to push the barriers in the music world. The are very original and unique and do not like to conform to the norm. In 'Modern Times' the reference to drugs seen in the prison sequence is somewhat daring for the time, which reflects The Crookes behaviour too.
Idea 2:
Our second ideas is much more modern in time and is much more fresh opposed to our first idea of Charlie Chaplin. The second idea is much more minimilistic. We were influenced greatly by a British Band, The Maccabees. The Maccabees are an English indie band, based in Brighton and originally from south London. They have released two albums so far, Colour It In, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4th May 2009.
The video consists of little movement and lots of still shots. This minimilistic movement adds emphasis on the lyrics opposed to the imagery. The shots also consist on minimaln props and surroundings. Due to the Maccabees being a British indie band they like to use objects and surroundings of their home country/city. They use cars, televisions and other props that are symbolic to the type of band they are. The band are a very retro and fashionable band/ The video consists of close-up shots and there is very clear lip-sync between the voice-over and the main singer. The apparence of the Maccabees is also very 'old school' and normal. Just like The Crookes their style is an important way of portraying the correct image and style of thier music.
The Crookes style has been described as influenced by "old-time" pop-music, with elements of 50's and 60's songwriting, this in turn would influence our music video. Just like The Maccabees video we would like to also keep it very minimilistic in movement and props to emphasis the poetic lyrics that The Crookes evoke. However, we would like to include elements of the 1950s style and influence as this is a major part of The Crookes, both their music and image. We would carry through the tone of the Sepia effect to make their music video unique and apparent to the style of the band.
The Maccabees - First Love
Smernicki MySpace Video
Idea 3:
Another influence of The Maccabees, however this consists much more of imagery and movement opposed to the previous video from The Maccabees. As former students of English Literature The Crookes, are also know for their "wry lyrical turns" further reinforcing their ties with Sheffield's musical legacy. Noel Gallagher said of the band, 'they've got good lyrics. All bands from Sheffield have good lyrics.' This major influence of the lyrics brought us to the idea of imagery and movement.
The strong link The Crookes have with their home town and family is obvious. We can also see this in The Maccabees 'Toothpaste Kisses' video. Throughout the video we can see, what looks like, family photos and places which seem special to the band. Each picture and place obviously has a special meaning to Maccabees. We think this would be good to include in The Crookes video as they have such hometown and family ties.
The editing in The Maccabees video is amazing. It is sleek and stylistic, innovative and creative. The motifs in the video emphasises their poetic flare and personality, which ties in with The Crookes as we think this would be inportant to show their personality in the video. We would also include 1950's motifs in The Crookes video as it reflects their personality and creates a theme.
Initial Inspiration:
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comedic actor and film director. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. What brought us to look at Charlie Chaplen is the style in which he uses in his productions. The effects of his work are similar to the effects and moods that we what to create with our band, The Crookes. We also love the way in which they move and the techniques to do this. At times the movements change in speed which adds drama and effect to his work. Therefore this ties in greatly with our initial ideas for our music video.
new video.
Idea One:
Our first idea for our music video for The Crookes was mainly inspired by the work of Charlie Chaplin, the use of black and white tones and 1930s style and influence. Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in Chaplin's view, by the efficiencies of modern industrialization. When we first saw this video we immidiatly thought of the Crookes and how much of an influence Charlie Chaplin and his work, in particular Modern Times, has on our work. When we first heard The Crookes we thought of black and white theme and an old 30s/50s style video to compliment their work.
We initially liked the idea of using fast paced movement in a 'slapstick' kind of way. In 'Modern Times' most of the film was shot at "silent speed", 18 frames per second, which when projected at "sound speed", 24 frames per second, which makes the slapstick action appear even more frenetic.
We also liked that The Crookes seemed to push the barriers in the music world. The are very original and unique and do not like to conform to the norm. In 'Modern Times' the reference to drugs seen in the prison sequence is somewhat daring for the time, which reflects The Crookes behaviour too.
Idea 2:
Our second ideas is much more modern in time and is much more fresh opposed to our first idea of Charlie Chaplin. The second idea is much more minimilistic. We were influenced greatly by a British Band, The Maccabees. The Maccabees are an English indie band, based in Brighton and originally from south London. They have released two albums so far, Colour It In, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4th May 2009.
The video consists of little movement and lots of still shots. This minimilistic movement adds emphasis on the lyrics opposed to the imagery. The shots also consist on minimaln props and surroundings. Due to the Maccabees being a British indie band they like to use objects and surroundings of their home country/city. They use cars, televisions and other props that are symbolic to the type of band they are. The band are a very retro and fashionable band/ The video consists of close-up shots and there is very clear lip-sync between the voice-over and the main singer. The apparence of the Maccabees is also very 'old school' and normal. Just like The Crookes their style is an important way of portraying the correct image and style of thier music.
The Crookes style has been described as influenced by "old-time" pop-music, with elements of 50's and 60's songwriting, this in turn would influence our music video. Just like The Maccabees video we would like to also keep it very minimilistic in movement and props to emphasis the poetic lyrics that The Crookes evoke. However, we would like to include elements of the 1950s style and influence as this is a major part of The Crookes, both their music and image. We would carry through the tone of the Sepia effect to make their music video unique and apparent to the style of the band.
The Maccabees - First Love
Smernicki MySpace Video
Idea 3:
Another influence of The Maccabees, however this consists much more of imagery and movement opposed to the previous video from The Maccabees. As former students of English Literature The Crookes, are also know for their "wry lyrical turns" further reinforcing their ties with Sheffield's musical legacy. Noel Gallagher said of the band, 'they've got good lyrics. All bands from Sheffield have good lyrics.' This major influence of the lyrics brought us to the idea of imagery and movement.
The strong link The Crookes have with their home town and family is obvious. We can also see this in The Maccabees 'Toothpaste Kisses' video. Throughout the video we can see, what looks like, family photos and places which seem special to the band. Each picture and place obviously has a special meaning to Maccabees. We think this would be good to include in The Crookes video as they have such hometown and family ties.
The editing in The Maccabees video is amazing. It is sleek and stylistic, innovative and creative. The motifs in the video emphasises their poetic flare and personality, which ties in with The Crookes as we think this would be inportant to show their personality in the video. We would also include 1950's motifs in The Crookes video as it reflects their personality and creates a theme.
Initial Inspiration:
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comedic actor and film director. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. What brought us to look at Charlie Chaplen is the style in which he uses in his productions. The effects of his work are similar to the effects and moods that we what to create with our band, The Crookes. We also love the way in which they move and the techniques to do this. At times the movements change in speed which adds drama and effect to his work. Therefore this ties in greatly with our initial ideas for our music video.
Music Video's Which I Like
Sugababes - Get Sexy
This Sugababes music video has really made a huge effort to wow the audience. I think that maybe in parts of video are a little difficult to understand what is going on, as there are so many lights flashing and effeccts used at on time. That is the only critisism I have from watching this video, as I think it has definitly been made to wow an audience, which it has done.
Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers
I think the way this video has been made is amazing! There is not a dull point to the video, it is so alive and mdoern. The video definilty stands out from any others he has had in the past, and I think it will be hard to beat. In the part of the video where we are looking at Dizzee from an aerial view, it is obvious that when it was filmed, Dizzee perfomed his part and the rest was added in afterwards. I think this is an effective way of editing a video like this one. The video is perfectly suited to the song as it is very energetic and not too serious.
Beyonce - Sweet Dreams
I have chosen to upload this video because Beyonce always manages to create an amazing video. I like this particular video because it uses a wide range of camera angles. It uses close up shots at the beginning changing to long shots, and very quick editing the different shots. The mise-en-scene in the video is very well presented as there is a lot going on in the background of the video. Although some of the backdrops are very simple, the lighting and camera work brighten up the video. The effects used in this video are very imaginative and creative, using doubled images on Beyonce at certain points of the video and using a mirrored effect.
This Sugababes music video has really made a huge effort to wow the audience. I think that maybe in parts of video are a little difficult to understand what is going on, as there are so many lights flashing and effeccts used at on time. That is the only critisism I have from watching this video, as I think it has definitly been made to wow an audience, which it has done.
Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers
I think the way this video has been made is amazing! There is not a dull point to the video, it is so alive and mdoern. The video definilty stands out from any others he has had in the past, and I think it will be hard to beat. In the part of the video where we are looking at Dizzee from an aerial view, it is obvious that when it was filmed, Dizzee perfomed his part and the rest was added in afterwards. I think this is an effective way of editing a video like this one. The video is perfectly suited to the song as it is very energetic and not too serious.
Beyonce - Sweet Dreams
I have chosen to upload this video because Beyonce always manages to create an amazing video. I like this particular video because it uses a wide range of camera angles. It uses close up shots at the beginning changing to long shots, and very quick editing the different shots. The mise-en-scene in the video is very well presented as there is a lot going on in the background of the video. Although some of the backdrops are very simple, the lighting and camera work brighten up the video. The effects used in this video are very imaginative and creative, using doubled images on Beyonce at certain points of the video and using a mirrored effect.
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