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.