Our promo package consisted of 2 parts, firstly the music video and secondly the digipack and advertisement. Looking specifically at the music video we had to find a local band or artist to give us permission to use their track and discuss possibilities of what type of music video i would create in order to match the representation of the band and to appeal to the target audience. We spent alot of time looking at different genres and what type of music videos were generally made within the genre. The genre of Os Vampiros was indie music, so i researched music videos by Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys. Deciding that with a debut video of the band they were quite simplistic and involved the band therefore deciding that that is the route i would go down. Also they involved the band actually performing with in some cases having like an unknown narrative which shows the band outside their performance. To support the representation of the band.
Using my research i decided that i would use Goodwins theory of creating a video that is disjunctive, illustrative or amplificitive and create a disjunctive video, as i felt that that was what alot of indie bands did. As a performance video didn't really have any link to the lyrics of the song. I came up with the idea of using a performance video in their rehearsal hall, as this was a debut video so it wouldn't be a mainstream high budget video, also i got inspiration from Arctic Monkeys debut video " i bet that you look good on the dancefloor" and Vampire Weekend's "a punk"
This video is simplistic, part performance and still representing the band as humorous and creative. This is what alot of my research of indie music agreed on.
With a variety of routes to go down i believe my music video agrees with Goodwins theory of amplificitive, illustrative or disjunctive. I believe my video fits nicely in the disjunctive category as the video has no relevance to the lyrics and is seperate from the song. To achieve this i read and understood the lyrics however talking no notice of them when it came to creating the video. My music video has no narrative however looking into the lyrics the song is slightly depressing as its about the worse day of your life, however I've gone against the conventional sad, slow paced video and contrasted it to create an energetic, lively video as that is the way the band come across.
If i was going to create a performance video i would have to have fast pace editing with a variety of shots, to give the audience a focus.
This way it targets the audience and keeps them interested paired with fast cuts always means the audiences eye has something to focus on. I felt that a performance video alone would not appeal to my target audience which is both males and females between the age of 17-30 according to my background research. So i decided to have a second story line going on at the same time, with no narrative just a sequence of short scenes to represent the band in a humorous rock and roll way.
I made a clear distinction between the performance and the band not performing by having the performance in black and white and keeping the other footage in a sepia theme to make the clear distinction.
When there was a prominant instrument playing whether it being a continual drum beat or a guitar solo i often cut to close ups of that particular instrument to show shot variety and to draw the attention of the audience to this particular band member and instrument.I believed this worked successfully as it added more pace with fast cuts between different angles of the instruments.
I used alot of long shots in order to frame the band as a band together as usually the main focus is on the lead singer with alot of the close ups on the singer alone for example arctic monkeys "i bet that you look good on the dancefloor" had alot of the shots on Alex turner singing. And this is the way they wanted the band to be represented with a clear front man. However shots including close ups of the other band members were used but not as often what i decided to do.
Yet Vampire Weekends "a punk" had some focus on the lead singer but also had alot of focus on the other band memebers which is what the band wanted to do, for each member to have equal chance. This is were using longer shots helped as it shows the whole picture of the band playing together, with the use of close ups not to emphasise the lead singer alone but to draw the eye of the main focus part of the song.
So by incorporating shots of the whole band gave the impression that no one was more superior than the other. And shows all the band members playing their own instruments. With the more cuts between the long shots, close ups and the outside the performance part of the video creates pace within the video to match the pace of the song. Although the song meaning doesn't match the pace of the video, i decided to contrast the meaning of the song with the video itself, as they may create unhappy songs but that doesn't necessarily mean that they want to be represented that way. The song is pacey and thrives in strong individual instruments such as the guitar solos, the drum beat when everything else is quieter, and the singers voice all individually stands out at different parts of the song, this contrasts with other indie songs as the guitaring, drumming is usually in the background compared to the singer which is usually why the singer gathers the main focus. So I'm following the convention to a certain extent of having the main focus on the prominent part of the band because in my case they all are.
I decided to go along with the conventional performance video as that is what my research inspired me to do. As this is an upcoming recently signed band which means many people may not have heard of them. So the first impression is always important and that is another reason why we decided on a performance video so that audience are able to recognise what the band look like if they were ever to see them at a gig or want to buy their music.
Looking into other theories my video doesnt have a narrative so is therefore hard to link to Propps theory of roles as there are no roles to allocate within my video. Or Todorov's equilibrium/disequilibrium as there are no two states of emotions contrasting in my video. This is because its too complex and within my genre the videos are kept simple and easy to follow without a narrative in most cases.
My video was in no way enigmatic as it was kept simple and showing the band for the people who they are. However a semic code is used as it is showing how characters, settings, props take a meaning within a culture. With the influence of smoking as a cool thing and contributes to the rock and roll image. Also 1950's hollywood of style and rebellion. And again the influence of drinking which within todays culture and is seen as a cool thing to do and is what the rock and roll culture is all about, rebelling against todays society. My opening shot is the band walking down a grungy bridge, again shows the rawness of there locality and emphasisng the fact that they aren't big or mainstream. Also their clothing and the way they walk just says to the audience that this band are cool with a certain swagger about them.
The band wanted me to represent them in a cool, laid back, humorous way. Taking this into consideration matched perfectly with the research i found of indie videos as that is they way the majority are represented. I decided that a way to represent the band in a humorous way was too show they love what they doing but not taking it serious, i did this by adding cuts of the band playing each others instruments, but with the camera in the same place it flows much better and isn't as easily noticed as what the audience would think. I also decided to film the band in a car park without them knowing i had started this had shown the bands more natural side and what they are like together. Again contributing to the humorous representation as without them knowing i was recording they were messing about with each other and pulling tricks and showing them laughing was my main plan. I believe this worked well within my video as it lightens it up and shows the band aren't serious people and like to take things as a joke which is exactly what i managed to do. This is similar to Vampire Weekend's "a punk" as although they are playing their instruments they are messing about with different props and is one long take so all changes are made within the frame and contributes to the humorous representation.
Noticing in my research that the style of the band was very important and that the clothes they were tell alot about a person, like i mentioned before first impressions are important.
I researched the types of clothing indie band members were and skinny jeans was the most common type of clothing with polo tops, printed t shirts or shirts. This is the look the band go for anyway so this wasn't a problem and i believe they achieved the indie look well as they look smart however still mocking society by wearing ties and leather jackets. So this continual representation is carried on throughout. Also i decided that a black white colour scheme worked well as the backing curtain in their rehearsal hall was bright green and would draw alot of attention to that so by changing it to black and white meant that all the band members were equal as none were outstandingly noticable and that black and white is much smarter as its simple and is the colour of clothing most indie people wear. This links in with Barthes' cultural code, the image is recognised as 'indie' within the western pop culture.
By coming to a conclusion i decided that my music video matches the indie conventions of a performance video the representation of the band in a cool, rock and roll way. These type of videos by the Indie bands are primarily found on NME channel and MTV 2 as those channels play videos by upcoming Indie bands in order for them to be seen and promoted. I think the label in which my band would suit would be an independent label and potentionally onto XL recordings as they have such a wide variety of bands/artists from upcoming bands to mainstream artists and such a variety in genre's. This follows other indie music videos yet achieving this in my own way but still sticking to the normal conventions. By representing the band in this way it is also influencing the audience that this is what is cool, smoking and drinking and living the rock and roll lifestyle which alot of indie followers aspire to do. So unintentionally its going against todays society, which makes the representation semi-rebellion as expected in artist/band representation. Indie bands today rely on gigs and concerts and that is were the money is made, if a band can perform live then they are worth the audience spending their money on.
Yet Vampire Weekends "a punk" had some focus on the lead singer but also had alot of focus on the other band memebers which is what the band wanted to do, for each member to have equal chance. This is were using longer shots helped as it shows the whole picture of the band playing together, with the use of close ups not to emphasise the lead singer alone but to draw the eye of the main focus part of the song.
So by incorporating shots of the whole band gave the impression that no one was more superior than the other. And shows all the band members playing their own instruments. With the more cuts between the long shots, close ups and the outside the performance part of the video creates pace within the video to match the pace of the song. Although the song meaning doesn't match the pace of the video, i decided to contrast the meaning of the song with the video itself, as they may create unhappy songs but that doesn't necessarily mean that they want to be represented that way. The song is pacey and thrives in strong individual instruments such as the guitar solos, the drum beat when everything else is quieter, and the singers voice all individually stands out at different parts of the song, this contrasts with other indie songs as the guitaring, drumming is usually in the background compared to the singer which is usually why the singer gathers the main focus. So I'm following the convention to a certain extent of having the main focus on the prominent part of the band because in my case they all are.
I decided to go along with the conventional performance video as that is what my research inspired me to do. As this is an upcoming recently signed band which means many people may not have heard of them. So the first impression is always important and that is another reason why we decided on a performance video so that audience are able to recognise what the band look like if they were ever to see them at a gig or want to buy their music.
Looking into other theories my video doesnt have a narrative so is therefore hard to link to Propps theory of roles as there are no roles to allocate within my video. Or Todorov's equilibrium/disequilibrium as there are no two states of emotions contrasting in my video. This is because its too complex and within my genre the videos are kept simple and easy to follow without a narrative in most cases.
My video was in no way enigmatic as it was kept simple and showing the band for the people who they are. However a semic code is used as it is showing how characters, settings, props take a meaning within a culture. With the influence of smoking as a cool thing and contributes to the rock and roll image. Also 1950's hollywood of style and rebellion. And again the influence of drinking which within todays culture and is seen as a cool thing to do and is what the rock and roll culture is all about, rebelling against todays society. My opening shot is the band walking down a grungy bridge, again shows the rawness of there locality and emphasisng the fact that they aren't big or mainstream. Also their clothing and the way they walk just says to the audience that this band are cool with a certain swagger about them.
The band wanted me to represent them in a cool, laid back, humorous way. Taking this into consideration matched perfectly with the research i found of indie videos as that is they way the majority are represented. I decided that a way to represent the band in a humorous way was too show they love what they doing but not taking it serious, i did this by adding cuts of the band playing each others instruments, but with the camera in the same place it flows much better and isn't as easily noticed as what the audience would think. I also decided to film the band in a car park without them knowing i had started this had shown the bands more natural side and what they are like together. Again contributing to the humorous representation as without them knowing i was recording they were messing about with each other and pulling tricks and showing them laughing was my main plan. I believe this worked well within my video as it lightens it up and shows the band aren't serious people and like to take things as a joke which is exactly what i managed to do. This is similar to Vampire Weekend's "a punk" as although they are playing their instruments they are messing about with different props and is one long take so all changes are made within the frame and contributes to the humorous representation.
Noticing in my research that the style of the band was very important and that the clothes they were tell alot about a person, like i mentioned before first impressions are important.
I researched the types of clothing indie band members were and skinny jeans was the most common type of clothing with polo tops, printed t shirts or shirts. This is the look the band go for anyway so this wasn't a problem and i believe they achieved the indie look well as they look smart however still mocking society by wearing ties and leather jackets. So this continual representation is carried on throughout. Also i decided that a black white colour scheme worked well as the backing curtain in their rehearsal hall was bright green and would draw alot of attention to that so by changing it to black and white meant that all the band members were equal as none were outstandingly noticable and that black and white is much smarter as its simple and is the colour of clothing most indie people wear. This links in with Barthes' cultural code, the image is recognised as 'indie' within the western pop culture.
By coming to a conclusion i decided that my music video matches the indie conventions of a performance video the representation of the band in a cool, rock and roll way. These type of videos by the Indie bands are primarily found on NME channel and MTV 2 as those channels play videos by upcoming Indie bands in order for them to be seen and promoted. I think the label in which my band would suit would be an independent label and potentionally onto XL recordings as they have such a wide variety of bands/artists from upcoming bands to mainstream artists and such a variety in genre's. This follows other indie music videos yet achieving this in my own way but still sticking to the normal conventions. By representing the band in this way it is also influencing the audience that this is what is cool, smoking and drinking and living the rock and roll lifestyle which alot of indie followers aspire to do. So unintentionally its going against todays society, which makes the representation semi-rebellion as expected in artist/band representation. Indie bands today rely on gigs and concerts and that is were the money is made, if a band can perform live then they are worth the audience spending their money on.
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