The London Eye

During our time up London on the 30th November we decided that filming the London Eye for a whole 360 degree movement then speeding the film up would be effective. We took some photos of the eye itself from two different angles to see which would look more effective for the video.

Once the photos were taken we then thought we could have our artist standing in-front of the eye singing in normal time, with the eye itself moving faster as we would have sped the footage up. This idea however proved difficult to create in reality, so we thought again amongst ourselves as we still wanted to film the London Eye. After discussion we thought filming the Eye from across the River Thames would be ideal, as this could show pedestrians walking by, thus emphasizing the idea of time going quickly as they too would be under-cranked. The lyric to this visual is "Some say you might lose your mind", the idea of the Eye being under-cranked would therefore illustrate the concept of someone losing their mind as time is going by much faster than normal.

Filming the Eye from this angle would portray a sense of loss of control as the movement of the wheel would be easily distinguished, the cloud movement shown in the footage could also create the idea as the clouds would be moving faster across the shot. Using this location to film the shot would be ideal as the shot would solely show the Eye's movement along with the clouds. A second idea would be to shoot the Eye from a bench which is a few meters from the side of the pavement which could include pedestrians walking past to, this may however over-crowd the shot.

This is the second possible angle we could film the Eye from, it is located on the bridge by the Royal Festival Hall which therefore gives a higher angle to view the Eye. Filming from this angle could show the movement of the Eye as well as the cloud movement, we did however think the Big Ben clock tower in the background of the Eye was an effective shot, as it illustrates another famous landmark of London. This photo was taken at around 4pm which in Winter means the sun is setting, under-cranking this shot would therefore show the sunlight disappearing which could reference time in the song, as the time of day is moving on as would the song.

Leake Street

On Wednesday 30th November the group and I went to London to find some ideal places to film our video. We planned to go to Leake Street which is near Waterloo East train station, this street is dedicated to street art and it therefore holds some very creative work on the walls.

We took some photos of the location which are seen below:

Leake Street will therefore be evident in our video as we all decided it portrayed some of London's finest street art, as well as it being relatively busy which could prove to be an ideal place for a busker. It also follows our idea of the artist coming in from one end of a tunnel, and walking out the other at the end of the song. The tunnel itself portrays a range of cultures, with the street art representing a younger generation of people, and because the tunnel is near Waterloo East many business workers use the tunnel which could show the higher class people of London. There is also a car wash company near by the tunnel and therefore more working class people are seen there, thus showing a varied amount of people use Leake Street.

AKA...What A Life Video Release

The official video for the song 'AKA...What A Life' by Noel Gallagher was released on October 6th 2011.

This image is from Noel's official website which shows the video for the song and a short description for when the song is available for download. It also goes on to give a brief explanation to where it was filmed and who was involved, the actor and comedian Russell Brand plays a large part within the narrative of the video.

"Noel Gallagher has shot an amazing video for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' new single 'AKA… What A Life!'. The video was co-directed by Mike Bruce and Blake West, who worked with Noel on the video for 'The Death Of You And Me'. Filmed in California, Arizona and New Mexico, the video features an outrageous performance by actor / comedian Russell Brand"

Below is the video for the song which will therefore give us many new ideas for our own video, it may also evoke some problems for the group as we cannot plagiarize the original video.

'AKA...What A Life' Is To Bring Out A Video!

During the weekend I was reading 'The Sun' newspaper and within the 'ShowBiz' section I saw an image of Noel Gallagher, I then went on to read the featured article.

The article informed me that Noel Gallagher is to release a music video for his new song 'AKA...What A Life' which will feature Russell Brand. The video will apparently be shot in Mexico, California and Arizona. This may cause a potential problem as we do not want to copy his style, because we want to create our own original house style for the music video.

The news of Noel producing a video for the song is not all negative, as it may help us think of more possible shots to take and a method to follow the style. Although the video is to be shot in other countries it could still prove to be useful as we want to follow an Alt Rock image in our own video.

The Sun website also revealed some shots which will be used in the video. Here are three possible shots which will be seen when it's released.

The Box Music Channel

I have looked on Wikipedia and The Box website to find out when and where it formed. Looking at these websites has shown what types of music The Box plays on its many shows, from this I can see if we chose to have The Box play our video it would be on the programme UK Airplay. Even though this could be appropriate for our song 'What A Life' by Noel Gallagher as The Box operates in the UK which is mainly Noel Gallagher's audience, I feel that MTV would be more suited as it is a larger corporation than The Box.

The Box is a TV channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel was formed in April 1992 and is one of many within the Box Television network, a joint venue between Channel 4 and Bauer Group. The channel mainly broadcasts music videos, although it also features other music-related programming from 4Music. The channel broadcasts 24 hours a day with Teleshopping shown late at night.

Here are some of the programmes available on The Box:

• UK Hot 40
• Fresh4Summer!
• UK Airplay
• VIP Track of The Week
• The Crush Party Bangers Top 20
• Teleshopping

Brief History

The channel was brought to the United Kingdom by Vincent Monsey (of Radio Caroline fame) and his partner Liz Laskowski, who discovered the channel in Miami in 1991 as The Jukebox Network. The UK company, Video Jukebox Network International Limited, was formed in 1991 and the channel was launched in 1992 as THE BOX in the early days of cable television.

This information was taken from Wikipedia (Click for link)

Effective Camera Shots

I visited the website YouTube to find videos which use shots that I think are memorable and in general look professional. I tried to search for a range of music genres as at this stage the group haven't decided on a song to choose for our video. This will hopefully help us decide on a genre for our video and hopefully narrow that down to a song choice. The videos chosen are all fairly popular which I think shows they are professionally made and therefore the shots used can be mimicked to some extent for our video.

Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall - Click for link

This clip is from 0.00 - 0.06 of the music video, it was shot in downtown Los Angeles and the city skyline with the sun rising is very effective. I believe this as it's the start of the day and therefore the start of the song. This type of Wide Shot works when there is a slow start as it's subtle and allows the music to build up as the sun rises up the image. Using a similar shot in my video however, will take time as the sun rises slowly and would use a lot of film, it is still a possible shot which can be done if it fits the chosen song.

Ed Sheeran - The A Team - Click for link

This shot is very powerful and shows a lot of emotion. This connotes with the song as it is based on a homeless woman who has a heroin addiction, and is also a prostitute. The Close Up shot of her face shows her teary eyes and worried facial expression, I believe this is effective as it enables the viewer to see how she has no choice of the life she lives. The black and white effect gives her a dark persona, which could show she see's no way of escaping her lifestyle. The frightened expression however, helps the audience realise she doesn't want to carry on in this way, and therefore sympathy is evoked from the shot.

Wretch 32 - Don't Go- Click for link

This shot shows a reflection of Wretch 32 in a puddle. The shot itself may be based as a point of view shot for Wretch 32, the fact it is a reflection may emphasise how the singer is in a reflective or sorrow state of mind. There is also a use of over-cranking during this shot which adds to the reflective or even regretful persona of Wretch 32. I like this effect as it prolongs the feeling of regret which is the basis of the whole song.


Kanye West - Jesus Walks - Click for link

The video to this song portrays the discrimination towards African-Americans. This shot shows a chain of slaves marching together, with them also marching to the heavy beat of the song. I believe this is effective as the video corresponds to the track, which helps the song and video flow easily. The black and white effect used also adds to the dark persona of the song, which I believe creates a powerful message to the audience about the terrible times of the slave era.

Jay Z - Empire State of Mind - Click for link


The use of a cross dissolve is a very nice effect in this video. The way it changes from Alicia Keys playing the piano to the city of New York may be used to show a change in time, if not the way it has been shot definately shows a sense of professionalism. The location was chosen to pay homage to the hometown according to Alicia Keys and Jay Z. I like the idea of using a cross dissolve as it can show two different people in different situations, which is common in many music videos.

All images were taken from videos on Youtube.com

MTV's Irresistable Rise - BBC

After researching how MTV started and general facts about the company I came across this article from the BBC, it shows exactly how and where MTV began. The information shown here is very useful as it shows key figures of the company's revenue, audience and history. The information here is a large reason to why we would use MTV to promote our music video.

For a generation of music fans, 1 August 1981 was to be defining moment. The sound of the Buggles' cult-hit Video Killed The Radio Star pulsated out from TV screens across the US.

But not only that, the "wacky" antics and personas of the band could also be seen in glorious, absorbing colour.

Welcome to the birth of MTV, the original non-stop pop music video channel.

The Who were among the first to appear on MTV

Its launch marked a new era in the promotion, consumption and power of pop music among the record-buying young, and coined the expression the "MTV generation".

Since its launch, MTV has spread into 342 million homes, branched out from pop and become a multi-million dollar enterprise, owned by Viacom.

However, as August dawned two decades ago, the New Jersey cable outlet, begun by Warner Communications and American Express, had fewer than one million viewers.

Word spread among its target 12-24 year-olds about the star guests and cutting edge style of the channel.

Within a few months, viewership had grown to more than two million. Two years on, the expansion of cable TV took MTV into more than 10 million homes.

Sales

Until MTV, music TV had consisted mainly of the odd, bland appearance of bands on entertainment shows. And the power of multi-channel radio in the US had never been seriously challenged.

But MTV's personal and "on-demand" approach to music wooed the young and, as a result, the industry movers and shakers as well.

Michael Jackson's Thriller video was a ground-breaking piece

In 20 years, there have been numerous landmark events in MTV's history. But all symbolise the channel's irresistible rise and influence.

A year later and New Romantic star Adam Ant became the station's first VJ, or video jockey, between clips.

These high-profile guests highlighted the growing awareness of the music industry of the channel's influence on sales.

Even in those early days, hit UK band Dire Straits was singing about the MTV phenomenon in Money For Nothing.

At its start, most of the artists on MTV were white, which became a point of contention. In 1983, the issue was confronted head-on by Michael Jackson and his 14-minute video for Thriller.

Though Michael Landis' epic was to become MTV's most requested clip, the channel initially refused to air it.

"They said it was too long. So, Jackson threatened to cause a boycott of the channel by his label Epic, which handled many of the industry's major acts," says Simon Warner, pop music lecturer at Leeds University.

Budget

It also led to Jackson's Thriller album selling more than 800,000 copies a week. The MTV effect on sales did not go unnoticed and was to be capitalised on from then on.

"Music fans began to expect songs to have images - glossy ones too - otherwise they would not succeed," said Mr Warner.

Madonna knew how to appeal to the video generation

"So record companies had to start adding at least £50,000 to an artist's marketing budget to make that essential video," he added.

In the early 80s, it was the British New Romantics, such as Adam and the Ants and Duran Duran, who benefited most from MTV.

Many had been producing music videos for a number of years - a legacy of their art college backgrounds.

But, along with Jackson, US artists were soon to catch on. Madonna can be held-up as one of the greatest MTV success stories.

From Holiday through to MTV's first screening of her controversial Like A Prayer video, Madonna was a video creation as much as a singing star.

And in latter years, Britney Spears, Eminem and the Spice Girls have become global superstars through the constant airing of their videos.

Politics

By the end of the 80s, MTV and the pop industry had a mutually dependent relationship.

The creation of the now coveted annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 fuelled the fire. Memorable winners include Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer and Losing My Religion by REM.

Live Aid: One of MTV's first politically-driven broadcasts

In 1985, it broadcast the whole of the Live Aid concert - for famine relief in Ethiopia.

In 1989 it went political, broadcasting live from behind the iron curtain. And in 1992, it carried coverage of the US Presidential election - to encourage the young to vote.

The launch of MTV Europe in 1987 added more than 1.6 million households to MTV's subscription list.

In 1992, its fly-on-the-wall series Real World created "reality TV" - nine years before Big Brother.

It also brought us the inimitable Beavis and Butt-head and Celebrity Deathmatch animations.

Profits

And the growth continues. MTV was the first music channel to launch on the web in 1996.

A year later, it launched MTV UK and Ireland and it has grown into a business and brand in its own right called MTV Networks.

Britney Spears: One of MTV's latest stars

MTV Networks encompasses spin-offs and digital channels such as MTV2, MTV Dance and MTV Base.

In 2000, it made revenues of $3.04bn. But with the growth of digital cable and more channels, MTV could face a tough challenge.

Rival German station Viva is already a competitor in five European countries. AOL Time Warner is discussing launching its a rival music channel.

But MTV, which describes itself as the biggest youth broadcaster in the world, remains jovial. Plans for further expansion have been mooted.

And with analysts forecasting a 10% increase in its cash flow this year, the immediate future looks bright.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1456093.stm

My Top Three Videos

3) Swedish House Mafia - Save The World
The video for this song is memorable mainly because the audience get shocked by who saves the people in the video. It shows three scenarios which are a woman being mugged, a man having his car stolen and a cafe/diner being robbed. Where the viewer would expect the police or other humans to "save the world" it is actually a group of dogs. The video itself shows over-cranking through-out the video, this may have done to add drama and tension to the on screen situations. As the dogs effectively save the people in the video it challenges the idea of humans being the dominant species in the world and therefore makes it easy to remember, as it is very unique from other music videos in the dance genre. Most dance genre music videos use a range of quick cuts as the pace of the song is fast, this video however uses long takes and the over-cranking makes it differ, and therefore memorable.


2) Pendulum - Slam

This video is certainly memorable mainly down to the shock factor and humour it shows. The video starts with long takes as the pace of the song is slow, the camera shots include close ups of the mans face which shows a blank expression, therefore showing a feeling of isolation. The man is also shot out of focus which shows traffic and other people passing by, which adds to the feeling of loneliness. However the video shocks the audience when the song drops, as the lonely and quiet man suddenly takes his shirt off and begins dancing in the middle of a busy street. The pace of the editing becomes faster once he begins to dance and the video shows this by quicker cuts and the rigorous dancing by the man. The video also seems to show people's natural reactions to seeing the man dancing, which makes it more outrageous as they must have shot the video in normal streets in-front of unknowing pedestrians.

1) Kanye West - Jesus Walks

This video is a powerful and nearly a controversial representation of people's religion and beliefs. The slow and steady pace of the music is represented by the video as it shows African slaves chained together walking at similar speed to the music. There is also parts where Kanye has fire behind him which emphasizes the power behind the video, as well as over cranking when a worker is hitting rock with a pick axe. I believe the use of close ups on school girls skipping and singing the chorus is memorable as it shows how the slavery and discrimination against black people effects young innocent children, the lyrics "I hope my feet don't fail me now" also matches the school girls feet in slow motion as they skip. There is also many references to hell and the devil within the video, this makes it memorable as this shows the worst scenario is happening as the devil and hell is seen as ultimate evil or punishment. The most controversial part of the video shows a white man carving a cross out of a tree trunk, then dressing in the white hood which is associated with the KKK; a racist movement towards other ethnicities other than white. The man then goes onto set fire to the cross and carries it up a hill, the over cranked tracking shot shows how the man is replicating Jesus carrying the cross and the fire may represent hell.

The Most Expensive Music Video

The most expensive video created was by Michael Jackson, the song also involved his sister Janet Jackson. The title of the song was "Scream" and the finished video cost $7million! The apparent costs of the video are as shown:

• Computer-generated spaceship: $65,000
• Breaking guitars: $53,000
• Morphing artworks: $50,000
• Michael's makeup: $3,000
• Janet's makeup: $8,000 a day
• Choreography: $40,000
• Giant video screen: $80,000
• Lighting: $175,000
• Total cost of 11 sets: $5,000,000

The song was released on 31st May 1995, and the video itself was produced in June later that year. The video was apparently a retaliation towards the tabloid media who showed the child sexual abuse allegations made against Michael Jackson in 1993.

Where Did MTV Start?

The image below is from Wikipedia, it shows some of the history of MTV and also the channels it broadcasts. The company MTV was based in America when it began but now it airs channels in many countries such as:

• United Kingdom
• France
• Germany
• Japan
• Spain
• Russia
• Canada
• Italy
• Sweden

MTV was first created in 1981, New York City and broadcasted the first music video made which was 'Video Killed The Radio Star' by the Buggles. The introduction of this company was revolutionary as now most songs released come with a music video, this shows how MTV changed the music industry across the world. Nowadays artists release music videos to increase their reputation and audience awareness, this essentially leads to more profit for the artist which is essentially the basis of the music industry, as it is a business.

MTV also produces many channels which show reality shows as well as music videos. The wide range of music genres shows that MTV has diversified and therefore reach a larger audience. MTV has created channels such as:

As well as showing a vast range of music such as Rock music and RnB music, MTV also shows reality shows which include: Jersey Shore, Geordie Shore, Runs House, Jackass, The Hills, Cribs and My Super Sweet Sixteen. MTV has moved into other markets as it means the brand is universally known which essentially leads to more sales, the diversification of the company shows the power as they can afford to integrate from music to reality TV.

With MTV having so many different channels it enables the brand to dominate the market, as MTV has channels involving Rock, Dance, Rap and Mainstream Pop. This means MTV is the number one company to play music videos, as if an artist can get their music video played by MTV it will be seen by millions of people across the globe.

Based on the popularity and market dominance MTV has over the music video industry, I believe at this moment in time it would be suitable for our video to be aired on MTV, with it being mainly on the channel MTV ROCKS.

The First Music Video

To find some information on the history of music videos I wanted to find the first music video ever made. After searching through Google, Wikipedia and YouTube I found this song which is believed to be the first music video made as it was the first on MTV when it began airing on television. The video itself has created many conventions of recent music videos today as it uses both narrative and performance, as well as many close ups of the artist.

So what was the first music video aired on television?

Key Facts

• The first ever music video produced was "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles.
• The video was first screened on MTV at 12:01am on 1st August 1981 in America.
• Below is the music video for "Video killed the radio star", this was the start of a revolution in the music video industry.

The music video for 'Video Killed The Radio Star' shows both narrative and performance, although this style is now around 30 years old it is still used in many recent music videos today. Some videos, more towards the Rock genre now use solely performance style videos as this shows the technique used to make the music as well as it being live as it shows a more exciting atmosphere to the song. Other genres such as RnB tend to use more narrative than performance, as they are generally about love so the videos show parts of a love story or relationship between two people.

Narrative - A music video which is classed as a narrative shows the audience visuals which connote a story. This idea is used usually so that the target audience can listen to their favourite songs as well as being able to follow a story line. Many record companies want narrative music videos as it is another profit creating tool, as the fans of the artist will watch the video created revenue through music channels wanting the video on their channel.

Performance - A performance music video consists of live footage of the artist or band performing the song. This style is often used for heavy metal and rock music as it shows how the band created the music, some artists also film concerts they perform at which may be included in the video. The idea of using live footage from concerts creates profit for the record company as the fans who were at that concert will want to see the video as they may be in it, thus creating demand from music channels.