Yet to decide on Album name, hence literal titles at this point. All images taken from deviantart.com, from which we'll have to get permission to use them as a final album cover from their respective artists.
Friday 10 December 2010
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Crew/Equipment List
Equipment needed will be minimal due to the style (Point of View) of the video. We will be trying to make it as true to real life as possible so will be making use of natural props found around our filming locations. Filming equipment will be one handheld camera, a Panasonic SDR-S26, which will be lower in quality but this should work in our favor by giving a more gritty feel to the video.
Monday 22 November 2010
Artist Info
Spy Catcher are a four-piece rock band from Watford, United Kingdom formed by former members of Gallows, Cry For Silence and Haunts. It is made up of the following members:
Steve Sears Jr - Vocals/Guitar
Mitch Mitchener - Guitar
Stu Gili-Ross - Bass
Alistair Gordon - Drums
'Music That My Dad Likes' received BBC Radio 1 unsigned track of the week and featured in Kerrang's 'Ten Songs You Should Hear Now'.
They have produced and rcorded all their own releases, including their debut EP "Rock Is Cursed", which came out on August 10th 2009.
The band have been known to distribute music for free; a digital version of the rare demo was given away for two weeks after selling out of physical copies before disappearing altogether and the title track of 'Rock Is Cursed EP' is also available.
Discography
"Demo" (2009, self-released)
Rock Is Cursed EP (2009, self-released)
Steve Sears Jr - Vocals/Guitar
Mitch Mitchener - Guitar
Stu Gili-Ross - Bass
Alistair Gordon - Drums
'Music That My Dad Likes' received BBC Radio 1 unsigned track of the week and featured in Kerrang's 'Ten Songs You Should Hear Now'.
They have produced and rcorded all their own releases, including their debut EP "Rock Is Cursed", which came out on August 10th 2009.
The band have been known to distribute music for free; a digital version of the rare demo was given away for two weeks after selling out of physical copies before disappearing altogether and the title track of 'Rock Is Cursed EP' is also available.
Discography
"Demo" (2009, self-released)
Rock Is Cursed EP (2009, self-released)
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Green Day - Basket Case (Music Video Analysis)
Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUTGr5t3MoY
The video essentially follows the story of the song's lyrics. The name of the song itself is referenced in the video ("Basket Case" is a colloquial term for someone with a mental illness). The video begins by setting the scene in what appears to be a mental hospital of some sort given the heavy security doors and people dressed in white outfits. One such man enters a room carrying a guitar, a close-up is seen of the guitar being plugged in to an amp and as the shot progresses we see the room set up for a performance (mics, drums, amps etc) the lead singer is already standing there in front of the microphone. He is handed the guitar, and looks around the room and at the ceiling, seemingly bewildered and confused. He's also not wearing white clothes like the staff at the hospital. These things combined tell the audience that he is a patient.
The claim that the band are patients at the hospital is backed up immediately afterwards. As soon as the singer starts playing his guitar and the song starts, a gurney is wheeled in by nurses carrying the band's bassist, who gets off and starts playing, followed by a wheelchair holding the drummer, who is wheeled up to the drums and he too starts playing.
The prevailing theme in this video is surrealism, used to give the audience an experience more from the point of view of the patients inside the asylum in the video. Several things are used to convey this surreal atmosphere. In several shots, extras are seen wearing strange masks. On it's own this adds an element of un-reality, but those who remember the cult film "Brazil" (1985) will realise they're the same mask as the one worn by the "Torturer" character in the film. This adds an extra element of 'weirdness' to these individuals by bringing potentially frightening memories to the surface. The very fact that Green Day used this reference in the "Basket Case" video tells us that they're fans of the film, and therefore the fans watching the video are more likely to be, and therefore are more likely to 'get' the reference and the surreality within it. Short scenes depicting individual band members surrounded by floating (presumably imaginary) multi-coloured fish and eyes adds to the surreal effect. Research also reveals that the video was filmed in black & white and the bright, almost neon colours added afterwards to contribute to this surreal atmosphere.
The video contains numerous references to the novel "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" (1975 film), which was clearly an inspiration to the band. The nurse handing out the pills is similar aesthetically and in character to the villain in the film (also a nurse). The sequence depicting a patient's successful escape attempt by throwing a large object though a window and climbing through is an almost exact re-enactment of the scene from the book/film.
The video essentially follows the story of the song's lyrics. The name of the song itself is referenced in the video ("Basket Case" is a colloquial term for someone with a mental illness). The video begins by setting the scene in what appears to be a mental hospital of some sort given the heavy security doors and people dressed in white outfits. One such man enters a room carrying a guitar, a close-up is seen of the guitar being plugged in to an amp and as the shot progresses we see the room set up for a performance (mics, drums, amps etc) the lead singer is already standing there in front of the microphone. He is handed the guitar, and looks around the room and at the ceiling, seemingly bewildered and confused. He's also not wearing white clothes like the staff at the hospital. These things combined tell the audience that he is a patient.
The claim that the band are patients at the hospital is backed up immediately afterwards. As soon as the singer starts playing his guitar and the song starts, a gurney is wheeled in by nurses carrying the band's bassist, who gets off and starts playing, followed by a wheelchair holding the drummer, who is wheeled up to the drums and he too starts playing.
The prevailing theme in this video is surrealism, used to give the audience an experience more from the point of view of the patients inside the asylum in the video. Several things are used to convey this surreal atmosphere. In several shots, extras are seen wearing strange masks. On it's own this adds an element of un-reality, but those who remember the cult film "Brazil" (1985) will realise they're the same mask as the one worn by the "Torturer" character in the film. This adds an extra element of 'weirdness' to these individuals by bringing potentially frightening memories to the surface. The very fact that Green Day used this reference in the "Basket Case" video tells us that they're fans of the film, and therefore the fans watching the video are more likely to be, and therefore are more likely to 'get' the reference and the surreality within it. Short scenes depicting individual band members surrounded by floating (presumably imaginary) multi-coloured fish and eyes adds to the surreal effect. Research also reveals that the video was filmed in black & white and the bright, almost neon colours added afterwards to contribute to this surreal atmosphere.
The video contains numerous references to the novel "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" (1975 film), which was clearly an inspiration to the band. The nurse handing out the pills is similar aesthetically and in character to the villain in the film (also a nurse). The sequence depicting a patient's successful escape attempt by throwing a large object though a window and climbing through is an almost exact re-enactment of the scene from the book/film.
Monday 15 November 2010
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California (Music Video Analysis)
Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP47oST_hAE&feature=fvst
The video for "Dani California", a 2006 single by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, documents the evolution of rock music through performances, on stage from the band, in a variety of settings and outfits resembling important figures and movements in the history of the genre. It is sometimes referred to as a quasi-chronology, meaning it only loosely follows the chronology, not following it to the letter. For example during the latter stages of the video when they're performing as themselves, the scene occasionally flashes back to previous eras which of course doesn't follow the chronological order.
The band mainly decided to depict eras, and as such their outfits are deliberately generic with little to no distinguishing features, but the video does contain homages to particularly important artists of the genre.
Timeline & Eras Referenced
0:00
Rockabilly (reference to Elvis Presley)
0:26
British Invasion (reference to The Beatles)
0:37
Psychadelia (reference to Jimi Hendrix)
0:57
Funk (reference to Parliament-Funkadelic)
1:22
Glam (reference to David Bowie)
1:51
Punk (reference to Sex Pistols)
2:03
Goth (reference to The Misfits)
2:15
Hair Metal (reference to Mötley Crüe)
2:48
Grunge (reference to Nirvana)
3:02
Modern (RHCP themselves)
The video for "Dani California", a 2006 single by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, documents the evolution of rock music through performances, on stage from the band, in a variety of settings and outfits resembling important figures and movements in the history of the genre. It is sometimes referred to as a quasi-chronology, meaning it only loosely follows the chronology, not following it to the letter. For example during the latter stages of the video when they're performing as themselves, the scene occasionally flashes back to previous eras which of course doesn't follow the chronological order.
The band mainly decided to depict eras, and as such their outfits are deliberately generic with little to no distinguishing features, but the video does contain homages to particularly important artists of the genre.
Timeline & Eras Referenced
Rockabilly (reference to Elvis Presley)
British Invasion (reference to The Beatles)
Psychadelia (reference to Jimi Hendrix)
Funk (reference to Parliament-Funkadelic)
Glam (reference to David Bowie)
Punk (reference to Sex Pistols)
Goth (reference to The Misfits)
Hair Metal (reference to Mötley Crüe)
Grunge (reference to Nirvana)
Modern (RHCP themselves)
Weezer - Perfect Situation (Music Video Analysis)
Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwv-iRvyDZg
The video opens with this title card. This connotes that the video will tell the story of the band before it's current iteration. More is revealed throughout the video about the specifics of the current and previous name but at this point people who know the band well may take the lack of an "R" in the bands name beforehand to mean that it's real-life, current lead singer, who is named Rivers, may not have been involved previously but is subsequently added to the line up, hence the addition of his first initial to the band's name. The video does in fact tell the story of how this addition came about. (It should be noted that this is fictional, no such changes were made to the name or band members. Rivers Cuomo has been their lead singer (and the band has been called Weezer) since their formation in 1992).
The raucous crowd with the bodyguard holding them back shows the band is still very popular even before they change their name/line up.
Rivers Cuomo, the band's real-life lead singer, is here depicted as the band's assistant, holding the crowds off of the fictional lead singer as they make their way into a venue in preparation for a concert.
Rivers is again shown to be some sort of assistant to the band, here testing the microphone for the vocalist.
As the curtains open and the concert starts, we notice the woman lead singer actually has a male voice, that of the band's real vocalist. This may add an element of unreality, putting doubt into the mind of the viewer that this actually happened. Perhaps here the producers are trying to convey that the video is a work of fiction, a made-up story.
The next 20 seconds or so sees the band proceed with the song. The band are dressed in extremely untypical clothes for a band of their type or indeed the band themselves - a fan of the band would spot that their 80's-style leather attire (often associated with heavy metal bands) is very much out of line with their usual style. This essentially is the producers beginning to introduce a theme that is common throughout the video, the fact that their singer is a "diva" and tries to assert control over the band. Evidently, forcing them to wear clothes they wouldn't normally to suit her desires for the band is a part of this.
In the period after the gig has finished, several things back up the claim that the singer is a diva, controlling and somewhat "crazy". First, she complains that there is one brown M&M sweet amongst a bowl of (obviously especially "filtered") green M&Ms (this is a reference to 80's metal band Van Halen, whose contract was rumored to contained a provision calling for them to be provided with a bowl full of M&Ms, but with all the brown ones removed). She then shouts at one band member and pours a bowl full of egg yolks over another.
This scene introduces to viewers the fact that the band's assistant appears to care for the singer, despite her fairly noticeable shortcomings. He is depicted escorting her from the gig through another crowd, getting her to bed and putting water and painkillers next to her.
Once she's left, they change clothes into what would be considered more typical for the genre and the band themselves, enforcing the theory that the original singer forced them to wear them.
At first, Rivers is upset about her leaving, appearing to believe he will be lonely without her (he sings the lyrics "tell me there's some hope for me, I don't want to be lonely" at this point).
The band take the stage without the singer, and as Rivers approached the side of the stage he is beckoned by the guitarist to go up to the mic and sing. He does so tentatively, with the crowd seemingly bewildered at the sight of a new seemingly unsuitable lead singer.
He gradually grows in confidence and the crowd begin to accept him. Shots of the former singer appearing depressed with empty bottles and mess around her show up periodically during this portion of the video, signalling a switching of roles between her and Rivers.
At the end of the video, "Weeze" t-shirts are shown having "R"'s written on the end to convey Rivers' induction into the band.
In the period after the gig has finished, several things back up the claim that the singer is a diva, controlling and somewhat "crazy". First, she complains that there is one brown M&M sweet amongst a bowl of (obviously especially "filtered") green M&Ms (this is a reference to 80's metal band Van Halen, whose contract was rumored to contained a provision calling for them to be provided with a bowl full of M&Ms, but with all the brown ones removed). She then shouts at one band member and pours a bowl full of egg yolks over another.
Eventually the band appear to get fed up with their singers antics and decide to fire her from the band.
Once she's left, they change clothes into what would be considered more typical for the genre and the band themselves, enforcing the theory that the original singer forced them to wear them.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Audience Theory
Our Target Audience Profile is split into three sections: Geographic, Demographic and Psychographic.
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILE
Content is applicable to a global audience, due to lack of reference to specific locations in the area of filming (Birmingham, UK).
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
Age; 18-30: Certain level of maturity required to understand themes of alcoholism, suicide etc.
Gender: More male-orientated but still applicable to females. Themes may be more commonly associated with the male gender group. Psychographic profile of individuals must also be considered though, some females may identify with the concepts more than some males.
Family: Those with family may have a better understanding of relationships, how they work and their effects, giving these individuals a better understanding of the negative effects of relationships as depicted in the video.
Education: Should be educated enough to understand the themes of alcoholism, relationships, suicide etc. shown in the video. A College (up to 18) education could be seen as the minimum required to truly understand what's going on.
Social Class/Occupation:
Directly linked? Unemployed or lower class people may be able to identify with video's focus through experience more so than upper classes.
PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILE
'Drifters': Indecisiveness, not sure what they want. Could be cause of the situation the man is in?
'Cynics': Want to have something to complain about. Many may complain about/disagree with concept of suicide or alcohol abuse.
'Drop Outs': Shun all commitment. Could be another cause of the man's woes, e.g. lack of commitment to his family may have cause their leaving? Lack of commitment to a job led to pile up of bills?
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILE
Content is applicable to a global audience, due to lack of reference to specific locations in the area of filming (Birmingham, UK).
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
Age; 18-30: Certain level of maturity required to understand themes of alcoholism, suicide etc.
Gender: More male-orientated but still applicable to females. Themes may be more commonly associated with the male gender group. Psychographic profile of individuals must also be considered though, some females may identify with the concepts more than some males.
Family: Those with family may have a better understanding of relationships, how they work and their effects, giving these individuals a better understanding of the negative effects of relationships as depicted in the video.
Education: Should be educated enough to understand the themes of alcoholism, relationships, suicide etc. shown in the video. A College (up to 18) education could be seen as the minimum required to truly understand what's going on.
Social Class/Occupation:
Directly linked? Unemployed or lower class people may be able to identify with video's focus through experience more so than upper classes.
PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILE
'Drifters': Indecisiveness, not sure what they want. Could be cause of the situation the man is in?
'Cynics': Want to have something to complain about. Many may complain about/disagree with concept of suicide or alcohol abuse.
'Drop Outs': Shun all commitment. Could be another cause of the man's woes, e.g. lack of commitment to his family may have cause their leaving? Lack of commitment to a job led to pile up of bills?
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Song Choice
Our choice of song to base our music video on, "Rock Is Cursed" by british alt-rock quartet Spy Catcher, was an obvious one to us given the relationship one of our group members has with the band. He was able to obtain permission to use the song and the lyrics directly from the band themselves. At first we wanted to use a different Spy Catcher song, "Nobody Listens", but we couldn't use it due to legal reasons - the band didn't want us to use one of their upcoming single releases. We chose "Rock Is Cursed" to replace it. We felt the song would make a simple yet effective backing to a video, and would give us a lot of options when it came to choosing the style of our video.
Monday 18 October 2010
Song Lyrics
Spy Catcher - "Rock Is Cursed"
Lyrics
I'm down on my luck what can I say?
I never had so many bills to pay;
And I won't change that around in a night;
Trouble seems to flow out of a guy like wine;
An hour here and we'll feel fine;
We'll drink our woes goodbye;
Get in a round and I'll swing by;
We're changing for the worse;
Say you'll just be there to wave my hearse.
They say time it takes its toll;
Well that is rock and that is roll. (x2)
I'm down for the race what can I say?
I heard that loads of people die that way;
and I won't change that around in a night;
Trouble seems to flow out of a guy like wine;
An hour here and we'll be fine;
We'll drink our woes goodbye;
get in a round and I'll swing by;
We're changing for the worse;
Say you'll just be there to wave my hearse.
They say time it takes its toll;
Well that is rock and that is roll. (x2)
That is rock
That is roll (repeat until end)
Lyrics
I'm down on my luck what can I say?
I never had so many bills to pay;
And I won't change that around in a night;
Trouble seems to flow out of a guy like wine;
An hour here and we'll feel fine;
We'll drink our woes goodbye;
Get in a round and I'll swing by;
We're changing for the worse;
Say you'll just be there to wave my hearse.
They say time it takes its toll;
Well that is rock and that is roll. (x2)
I'm down for the race what can I say?
I heard that loads of people die that way;
and I won't change that around in a night;
Trouble seems to flow out of a guy like wine;
An hour here and we'll be fine;
We'll drink our woes goodbye;
get in a round and I'll swing by;
We're changing for the worse;
Say you'll just be there to wave my hearse.
They say time it takes its toll;
Well that is rock and that is roll. (x2)
That is rock
That is roll (repeat until end)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)