Pre-Production Survey - Music Videos

SurveyMonkey - Pre-Production

Technical Analysis: Black Kids - Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)

Black Kids - ‘Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcoxfibLBLc

Technical Analysis

Look At Me is unlike the majority of 21st century music videos in that it relies more heavily on editing effects and techniques than regular video footage. The song is alternative and that clearly reflects the Black Kids' personality and ideology, something they decided to transfer in to this video.

The video amalgamates animation, cartoon sketches, green screen and regular visuals which makes it a refreshingly unique video in comparison to most others. Predominantly the 5 members of the band frequent throughout and appear in human form but in the shape of cardboard cutouts. They are then transported through a number of different graphical universes whilst the song elapses, miming the lyrics at regular intervals. The backgrounds and green screen shots boast a variety of bold, bright colours and in keeping with this theme the band members are dressed in wacky costumes; one is in astronaut attire whilst another is in a furry animal costume (above). They are equipped with animated accessories such as helmets, sunglasses and capes to give the impression they are exploring a world that is far from like the one we live in as humans. 

To accentuate this they display a wealth of recognisable pieces of equipment (musical instruments) and animals floating in outer space (above). This is designed specifically as a way of initiating shared understanding between the band and their audience - imagination is necessary in making this video relatable. The range of colours used entice the audience in to the video and allow them to draw their own conclusions from what they see. There is one shot that pans away from the footage and shows the inside of a spaceship looking out over a planet, inviting the audience to construe whether it is earth or an unknown universe (below). If they suspect it to be a new planet then they will vicariously explore it through the band. This deliberate technique implies that there are a number of different connotations to the shot but not one particular denotation.

 The inclusion of such images is done in post-production via computer software and that emphasises just how 'edited' the video is. To fully capture the abnormality of the environment the band are investigating there are a number of establishing shots and long shots so the audience acquire a greater perspective of what's going on. There are sequences of close-ups and mid-shots but generally they only occur when the focus is on one of the band members singing the song (below). This means that when it does happen it has a greater impact. 

The lyrics 'Look at me when I rock with you' in the opening 70 seconds of the song is accompanied by a clip of the guy in the animal costume admiring a number of different instruments that are floating around him (below). Whilst there is no real structure to the video they do attempt to parallel elements of it with the lyrics in the song. This brings a sense of identity to the non-story they are trying to tell because there is a clear link between the visuals the audience sees and the non-diegetic sound they can hear.

Once the audience develop a greater knowledge of the concept of the song they are fed little teasers in regards to the characters of the members of the band. One of the female members appears under attack from animated laser shots and manages to create a shield to deflect it away from herself. With the audience knowing to expect the unexpected, this segment of the video could even suggest that they are living in a computer game. This belief makes sense when you combine the attributes of the editing; colours, animation, characters, cartoon... etc. If this was to be the actual theme of the video then it could be considered a hybrid, remixing conventional music videos and pre-produced clips. Daft Punk may be the template of this idea as the music videos that accompany their songs on the album Discovery combine to create the film Interstella 555. This unprecedented trait could become an renowned part of the Black Kid's technical make-up.

The unusual aura that surround every production the Black Kids create and their personality themselves ensure the audience are never able to predict what will happen next. This feeds in to the desires they have from anything that Black Kids produce and it ever got to a point where this no longer happened the purpose of the band would extinguish. This video from 2009 displays a number of editing and camera techniques that vary from other releases at the time, making it memorable to whoever watches it. The band have delivered a video that cannot be defined or likened to any others and that is something that many artists aim to achieve unsuccessfully.

Technical Analysis: Hard-Fi - Hard To Beat

Hard-Fi - ‘Hard To Beat’ 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch6qy0qdifc

Technical Analysis

Hard to Beat is an uptempo, dance-influenced, rock track that conforms to the typical structure of a music video in this genre. It tells the story of the song as it’s being sung by the band.

The video begins with an establishing shot of one of the key locations of the video, a downtrodden local pub. Hard-Fi’s primary demographic are young suburban adults and therefore a pub is the ideal location to set the video. It is instantly recognisable and many of the demographic would be familiar with the typical happenings at such a place. An iconic presence within any town centre pub is a fruit machine and there is a close-up of one during the opening sequence to reinforce what should be expected as the video progresses (right).

Following on from this is a succession of close-ups of musical instruments such as drums (left) and a guitar. The band are then introduced one by one and are set up as if they were playing a gig within an empty pub. This is made apparent with the inclusion of a long shot of the band singing the opening lines of the song (below right).

In keeping with the desire to keep it relatable to the majority of their fans, the band are dressed in the typical male combination of shirt + jeans or jacket + jeans. This does not set them out to look above them and implies that they share an equality with those who will be watching. The lighting in this particular shot, as well as the positioning of the camera, makes frontman Richard Archer the centre of focus. A studio light appears above his head as the natural light that would be there from the back windows would not be sufficient to showcase the band. 

The story then begins to unravel in time with the lyrics of the song. This parallelism continues throughout the duration of the video. 3 different guys, who epitomise the stereotype of a young British male living in a contemporary city like London, are then seen leaving their respective homes. In this series of long shots the lyrics ‘girl you’ve got something I like’ are non-diegetically dubbed on top. This narration of the story clearly suggests that the main theme will surround the trials and tribulations of potential relationships between the men and 3 girls. 

The guy in the above shot then enters a pub (perhaps the same one as the band are singing in) and begins to play pool with a friend. A close-up of him then shows him looking up to his right. The next shot then reveals he was looking at a girl who also happened to be looking at him. The video contains intermittent clips of Archer singing the song and he appears with the lyrics; ‘I walked right over, said ‘hi how ya doin’?’’ (right). This is reflected in the story as the man then walks up to the girl and starts a conversation with her. 

The same thing happens with the two other men as they are then presented in greater detail to the audience. One works within a clothing store and the other appears as a mechanic in a garage. The jobs are insignificant but help to illuminate the fact that these people are regular working men that are unlikely to be earning excessive amounts of money - much like the majority of the audience. There is a fast edit in a sequence where the camera focuses on the same shot; a high-angled look at a floor where customers of this particular clothing shop are trying on different pairs of shoes (left). This is a clear motif that the band have selected to use in order to represent the ever-changing perspective in most people’s lives on the subject of love. 

The two remaining guys are then joined by their prospective dates in the next shots and are seen in a range of close-ups and mid-shots to be extremely pleased with the prospect of meeting them again. Archer then appears on screen in a close-up where he is wearing a bright red shirt that is highlighted further due to the fact the background is pitch black (right). He then sings at the camera in the final section of the song and says ‘No I’ve never known a night like this’ - alongside this are intermittent shots of the three men appearing in different locations (a bar, a car and a club) waiting for their dates to arrive.

Strobe, disco-like lighting effects then appear on screen in the handheld close-ups of Archer and it is evident that he is in a nightclub (left). The 3 guys then reappear with their dates joining them and they go off to enjoy their evenings. The establishing shots of their locations show that their relationships are blossoming.

The nightclub where Archer is singing is then shown to be packed full of party-goers with him situated in amongst them all (right). Blue and red flashing lights continue to occur when he is on screen. 

There are then mid-shots of the guys and their dates kissing to signify the full-circle they have gone in the process of the video, going from meeting a girl, arranging to meet up with her and then sealing their relationship with a kiss. To exaggerate mise-en-scene at the conclusion of the video, Archer is seen to be sweating in an extreme close-up (below). Such considerations are important and emphasises the importance of make up in a video to keep it realistic. The video then fades to black as the disco lights darken to conclude the story. This is done during post-production editing to dramatise the ending - as all good videos do.

I feel the combination of intimate camera shots and the song’s accompanying storyline make this a successful attempt at creating a sympathetic video about adult life. Structurally it provides everything that an audience would expect from a 21st century music video - vicariously living through the characters - but it certainly adopts its own unique style. Hard-Fi’s grasp of suburban life is transmitted through the video in a way that will appeal to its demographic, retaining their inimitable relationship between band and audience.

Timetable

Here is our schedule, if weather and other factors permit, for the entire music video process:

These are the key elements of the project that I need to complete each month and I will refer to it as a guide to ensure I am on track. There may be unforeseen circumstances that dictate a delay/change to the schedule but this is what I plan to do and when I plan to do it. I will, of course, embark on other pieces of work relating to the project each month that are not specified above but they are mentioned as they are not as significant. 

Blog Introduction

Hi, my name is Nathan Bees, a student at The Grange School and Sports College in Warmley, Bristol.

As part of my A2 Media course I will use this blog to document my progress throughout the year, recording the stages of pre-production, production and post-production.

By the end of the course I hope the process of deciding on an idea, developing it in to a music video and providing evidence of feedback from out target audience will successfully represent how the music industry produce and distribute products.