First Draft Music Video

https://youtu.be/fMRxp3_Iycc


above is the link to the youtube video of the first draft of my Music video

JONES

Great work uploading some analysis of your digipaks and your test footage Jamie. Keep pushing forward with the filming - that should be your focus so that you can begin editing your video.

You need to fill in a few gaps with research - Mulvey would still be a really helpful theory to look into, and you may want to look at band websites/ poster advertisements to complete the research for your brief.

Digipak Analysis

Below is a power point I made that looks at two album covers. The first of the albums is the same that the song I am making the music video for is from. The second is an album that within the same genre but not within the same sub genre. I did this so I could look at some of the similarities and some of the contrasts between the two albums.

Test Footage/First Clips

https://prezi.com/-91mxnp_bhbn/test-footagefirst-clips/


Above is a link that will take you to a Prezi presentation which includes a video with some of the footage I may use and some explanations of my decisions and where I am aiming for in the future.

JONES

I can see you are starting to look and think about digipaks. This will be helpful when you come to creating your own, but don't forget the first draft for your filming needs to be with us by Christmas.

In terms of your research, make sure you upload some research on Laura Mulvey's theories to add to your work on Goodwin.

Then start getting some filming under your belt. Can you upload clips or shots you have taken and developed already? Or create a filming schedule that helps us to see you are being proactive about when you need to film each shot.

Music Video Theories

This Link is to my Prezi on Music video theories
http://prezi.com/qb9pc8ej3d6w/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

JONES

Good work on the codes and conventions Jamie. Several focuses for you this week.

Don't forget Mr Plumtree's request for Goodwin/ Mulvey work. Upload that ASAP for us to look at and comment on please.

After that, you need to start thinking about your own production - we need to see signs of a storyboard, shot ideas and any work you have done for filming. I have seen some establishing shots and filler filming - why not upload some of those with your comments to show the research you have done for the filming and location.

Codes and Conventions of Avenged Sevenfold through time

Avenged Sevenfold is a band that started in 1999 and has since had 7 studio albums. They have been categorized under many different genres of heavy music such as heavy metal, hard rock, metalcore and progressive rock. This is because, as a band, they are constantly evolving their style in both audio and visual ways.

They started with a very metalcore sound which is quite heavy and almost Screamo sounding. This began with their first album ‘Sounding the Seventh Trumpet’. Their first studio album debuted in 2001 when they were still in high school. The image on the right shows the members as they were during this period.

 

Their second studio album, titled ‘Waking the Fallen’, was released in 2003, giving a more refined sound compared to their first album whilst still being categorized into the metalcore genre. The first two albums did not have any music videos to accompany the music as they were not with any major record labels. The picture on the left is the band in 2003.

 

In 2005 Avenged Sevenfold released the Album City of Evil, this was their major label debut with Warner Bros. This also marked the start of them using music videos to accompany their tracks. They did this for 4 of their songs. The style they used for their videos were a mix of narrative and performance whilst still having their metalcore look, however it is clear to see they are starting to refine their sound with the song seize the day. This is because the lead singer had been undergoing singing lessons with very famous singers. However with the song ‘Beast and the Harlot’ they have a very metalcore look with piercings, pale makeup and blackened eyes. The editing style of these songs were all very fast and shaky, which almost mimics the head-banging nature of the songs. 

 

In 2007 they released their fourth and self-titled album, Avenged sevenfold, and although there were mixed reactions the album still won many awards and contains some of their most recognizable songs. The music style of this album is more experimental and leaves the metalcore genre behind as they include elements of, symphonic rock, Goth rock, country music and even using a brass and string section in one of their songs whilst still mainly being heavy metal and rock. The music videos still keep with the performance aspect but also introduce some conceptual elements mixed in with the narrative of their songs. The editing is very fast and very in time with the music. The visuals of the music videos very often reflect the lyrics and the beat of the song, if there is a big drop with the drums or guitars there will often be an almost explosion of visuals and when it goes more melodic, the visuals are softer.

 

Their next album, Nightmare, has a lot of context behind its release in 2010. Nightmare was delayed in its release due to the death of the drummer and original band member jimmy ‘the Rev’ Sullivan. His death had a huge impact on the band on the album as a whole. Originally it was intended to be a very heavy rock album, but after The Rev’s death the songs took more of a conceptual tone as it morphed into an album reflecting his life with the band. This meant that the style of their music video changed as well, giving more of the performance and the narrative style. One song, ‘So Far Away’ is about The Rev’s death and the music video accompanying it has the band sitting on stools playing the instruments and singing whilst also having a dramatic representation of them growing up. Near the end of the song it has some actual footage of the band including The Rev behind the scenes. It’s clear to see that his death made the music videos take a more artistic approach. The most different video they did was the song ‘A little piece of heaven’, this was because the whole music video was a cartoon which was very out of the ordinary for the band, showing their progression and evolution. The picture on the left shows the band in 2010 adopting the look we are more familiar with today.

 

Their next album titled ‘Hail to the King’ was released in 2013. This album, as stated by the band members, went very bare-bones in its approach of heavy metal as it is very riff-orientated without overcomplicating it. The music videos still had the mix of performance and narrative with little bits of conceptual imagery, which by this point became their main look.

 

Their latest album ‘The Stage’, released 2016, takes more of a conceptual approach as a whole whilst still having songs which have heavy metal influences. This album has the biggest mix of styles within one album, some songs are melodic, some synthesized, progressive metal, thrash metal, metalcore and black metal. Within this album they include their longest song to date, running at 16 minutes. This song is called exist and showcases the band’s further experimentation into progressive metal. It is also the first heavy metal song to include the voice over of an astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson. The whole theme of the album is space and humans, each song gives a story within the lyrics and sometimes within the video. The single ‘The Stage’ has a music video which gives a different spin on the term ‘performance’ as there is an audience but they are not watching the band perform, they are watching a string puppet show, telling the story of human violence through the ages. The song ‘God Damn’ is the heaviest in the album, the music video goes back to the band performing the song in a warehouse but as the song goes on there are bits of glitch appearing and becoming more intense as the song intensifies, giving the sense that we are in a ‘simulation’, another one of the songs. The picture shows the band donning their look today.

Plumtree

Jamie, there are still a lot of gaps in your blog that need to be addressed. You need to look at the theoretical aspects of music videos as well as the different types of music video to help show your understanding of existing work and how this is all informing your choices for your product. The work you are currently doing on codes and conventions for your chosen artist will also need posting as soon as it is completed and should certainly be on your blog by tomorrow's lesson. For Friday, you will need to have the Goodwin and Mulvey theory analysis and the analysis of the different types of videos posted.

Equipment List

Below, I have linked a Prezi powerpoint, going through all the bits of equipment I will need and what I will use them for.

https://prezi.com/k--7oen9cfr4/edit/#134_30863873

Email to Capitol Records

This is the email I sent for permission to use the song I chose.

Plumtree

Jamie, some good analysis here of the genre you are going to work with, now try to add specific reference to Avenged Sevenfold and their 'house-style' for their music videos. This will allow you to focus on codes and conventions and how you might conform or challenge these codes in your own video.

Music Video Questionnaire Responses

Here are the responses from a questionnaire I did to find out more about my audience.

 

 

Music Video Analysis - Chop Suey!

Music Video Analysis – Chop Suey!

What are the Genre Characteristics?

The song Chop Suey! by System Of A Down is part of the rock genre so there are a few characteristics of this video that are consistent with other videos from the same genre. One of the main observations was that most of the band members are either shirtless or wearing clothes which look very casual and not highly stylised by a wardrobe department. One of the guitarists, Daron Malakian does not wear a shirt for the entirety of the video, revealing his many tattoos. (As seen on the right). One of the on things that gives the band a signature look is the facial hair. The lead singer has gone through many different hair styles and beard styles, leading to his signature goatee. Daron Malakian also has a bit of a styled beard as it has been braided and goes into a chin strap. Many heavy metal or rock bands use facial hair to give them a signature look for example the lead singer of the band ‘Disturbed’ has an iconic soul patch mixed with a piercing, another example being the lead singer of Metallica as he has kept a signature goatee. All of this links into the point that within the genre of heavy rock or metal, often band members will take off shirts or dress very casually as they like to focus on the music rather than purely focus on looks, even though they will have signature looks to put on a good show at somewhere like a concert.

 

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?

The lyrics and the visuals are linked which is evidenced throughout the song. One of the points was that when the singing becomes slower and more harmonic, the editing style changes, the cuts become longer and more conceptual imagery is introduced. This is shown when during the slower parts, the camera often would cut to the audience singing along. This changes when the singing becomes louder and quicker, it cuts back to the band and the editing speeds up again. As mentioned, during the slower parts there are elements of conceptual imagery, for example at multiple points the band members can be seen phasing in and out of each other

Relationship between music and visuals?

Similarly to the lyrics, when the music speeds up so does the editing and when the music slows down a bit, the editing slows down too. For example when the guitar riffs speed up and become quite heavy, the camera shots are very quick and short. When the instruments play more melodically and slow, the camera shots are longer and jump around less.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

Throughout the video the camera moves in different ways both near and far away from the band members. Throughout there are various crane shots, chest mounted camera shots, some establishing shots and some shots looking down to the audience. One of the most interesting camera movements I saw was at multiple points in the song a band member would stand on a podium and the camera would orbit them, starting from above, then go down vertically underneath the podium and when it would come back up another different band member would be standing there, this was a really effective camera movement, incorporating some of the more conceptual and random ideas in the song.

Is there reference to notion of looking?

Throughout the video both the band members and the audience look into the camera. The audience look into the camera whenever it flies overhead. The band look into the camera during the chest mounted shots to give more of a crazy and mad look which matches the song in a way as it’s very fast and crazy.