My Chosen Artist

For my music video I have decided to use Ellie Tanner's music. She is one of my friends and when I played some of her music to the group, we all agree that her music has lots of potential to create a music video. 

Ellie's music has elements of many genres. It has a pop, folk, indie, alternative feeling. 

Camera Work

Dolly Shot
A dolly shot is a travelling shot where the camera moves, usually on a wheeled cart, mounted on a rail.
Match Cut
An action that is started in shot A and completed in shot B or an action started in Shot A is mirrored in shot B. A very famous example of this is from 2001 Space Odyssey.
The bone is thrown in the air and then as the bone falls it changes to the satellite in space.

30 degree Rule
This is a basic film editing rule, which says that the camera should move at least 30degrees between shots of the same subject. By doing this we can stop the change in shot feeling so harsh and it creates a smoother change when altering the shot distance (medium to close-up)
180 degree Rule
This is another basic principle of filming, it involves shooting two objects/ people and making sure that they're always on the same side, as if there is a line down the centre of the two subjects. Conventionally this rule isn't broken as it can cause confusion for the audience and disorientation. 

Cross Cutting

Cross cutting is a technique that is often used in films to establish the idea of two events happening at the same time. This would be an interesting technique for my video as if I choose to do a song with a "love" storyline I would be able to portray the two sides of the relationship.

Jump Cut

A jump cut are two sequential shots of the same subject within which the camera moves slightly this creates a feeling of discontinuity and adds a feeling of movement of the subject.

Establishing Shot

This type of shot establishes the context of the scene and the setting. This shot is used a lot in narrative music videos and if I create a narrative video this will be a useful tool to establish and build the story and location of the narrative. Avoidance establishing shots is done when the feeling of mystery is wanted.

Up Shot

This gives prestige to the performer by making them appear larger and as if they're above us and it gives the feeling of a live performance as it simulates the feeling of being in a crowd looking up at the stage. 

Here is an example:

Marketing A Fake Band

To help me understand how to market an artist, I have decided to practice marketing a fake band. I had to research the ways in which I can market an artist and construct their image. I presented my ideas to the class:

How The XX use the Internet

How does the artist market themselves?

• official Band website thexx.info
• myspace - myspace.com/thexx
• Amazon
• last.fm
• Youtube
• Place tracks on myspace for free listening (enables listeners to sample the music and encourages listeners to buy if they like it)
• Post gig info and band info on official website
• posters, billboards
• Gigs 
• Band Shop (selling t-shirts , 7” vinyls, bags and even skateboard decks)

The Bands Online Shop

2 ways the band use the internet, how they do it and how effective it is?

• The internet allows the band to sell they’re music. They can do this in 2 ways, digitally by using iTunes and sites such as spotify. Also the can sell their music products like the CD’s through online retailers such as amazon.com and play.com. By selling the music in the two different ways the band are able to maximise their selling potential, as it allows people to download the music straight to their computers or they can order the CD and get it sent to them.

The Bands Myspace Music Page

• MYSPACE.com -  Myspace provides a platform for the artists to promote themselves, it allows fans to add them as “friends” making the fans feel more involved of with the band, they can use it to inform fans (myspace friends) of when their gig dates are. They can post videos to the site and the can load up previews and samples of their music. By doing this fans are allowed to sample before they buy which can lead to an increased fan base and more sales

This research will give me ideas and help me when I come to market my fake artist, Chloe Shaw.

An Introduction To The Music Video

What is a music video? 

Music videos are short films that are used by artists as a vehicle to promote and the artist and boost sales of their single and album. The music video as we know it came to the forefront in the 1980's, with the development of MTV. MTV was a channel that specialised in showing music videos, this provided artists with new platform to promote themselves on.

The different Types 

A wide range of films styles and techniques are employed in the production of music videos, with every artist having a different style and aesthetic. Some try to  mimic other videos within the same musical genre and some strive for something original and unique.

Some film making techniques include, animation, live action, documentary, bibliographical, narrative and un-narrative or abstract, although music videos are not limited to one style per video, with videos such a Green Day’s “When September Ends” which is a blend of narrative and footage of the band performing outside of the narrative. This is a difference between cinematic film work and music videos, as music videos break the usual conventions we see within film by often combining different styles with one video.   Combining more than one style provides the audience with excitement and sparks an interest within them, as this is not something seen within cinema. 

Beginning Of The Music Video 

In 1964 one of the first music videos was made. It was made by The Beatles and directed by Richard Lester, for the song “Hard Days Night”. It was a mock documentary, mixing dialogue between the band and musical interludes. It was a foundation upon which many of thew videos we see today are from. 

“ ... He influenced many other films. Today when we watch TV and see quick cutting, hand-held cameras, interviews conducted on the run with moving targets, quickly intercut snatches of dialogue, music under documentary action and all the other trademarks of the modern style, we are looking at the children of A Hard Day's Night"

Roger Ebert (film Critic), talking about Richard Lester.

Nowadays we are seeing new types of music video ever more frequently, particularly “fan vids” . These are videos made by the artists fans and they often include footage of the artist, but sometimes the videos are a completely random collection of images or pieces of footage that are pieced together and synched with the music. Videos like this are becoming ever more popular and frequent with the development of technology, in particular the internet, as it allows fans access to software and materials that would have been unavailable to fans of the Beatles back in the 1960s. 

(Facts & Figures taken from Wikipedia)