Song Choice

Our song choice is Mason Jar by Smallpools:

We chose this song due to the distinctive beat and lyrics which could be interpreted in a variety of different ways. We have decided to begin the song with what would appear to be a normal relationship between a boy and a girl. The video will reveal at the end that the boy is imagining this relationship and the girl is just a model on a poster on his wall. This is a spider diagram of our ideas:

You've Got Time

As a group we recently put together a short music video (copy) to practise our lip syncing and work out who would suit the role within our final video best. Therefore we decided to put together another video, this time to practise our editing skills to music. We chose to do 'You've Got Time' due to its strong beat and fast shots. As a whole I feel it was been successful however if I was to change anything it would be the lighting; the lighting appears slightly different in each individual shot which made the overall video look slightly amateur.

Original Video:




Our Video:

Record Label

Top 20 indie/alternative rock record labels are included in this link. These record labels could be interested in our music video due to our genre of music being (also) alternative rock and the knowledge that the band we have chosen to represent are a current and popular band at this time.

http://altmusic.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/Top-10-Indie-Record-Labels.htm

Alternative Rock History

Alternative rock have a huge background as to how it came about and I have used this website to gain insight into its history: http://rockmusic.mu/alternative-rock-music.html 

Alternative rock music is usually any rock music that descended from punk rock. Alternative rock music became popular in the 1990's but the history or alternative rock music goes back farther than that. Before Nirvana brought alternative rock music to the mainstream audience, the music genre had been gaining popularity with the college crowds and music underground.
          In the 1980's REM was making their start in alternative rock music. Most of their airtime was given by college radio stations. This is where their loyal fan base started. However, their commercial success started at about the time that alternative started to really become popular in the 1990's.
The popularity of alternative rock music came about after the grunge period. Grunge was a type of alternative rock music that denounced commercialism. This movement started in Seattle, Washington and soon took the world by storm. This was ironic since it was this type of music that helped to create the commercial success for alternative rock music. Bands such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
          Alternative rock music also made a big splash in Britain where punk rock was more popular. In fact, Alternative rock music entered the mainstream earlier in Britain than it did in the United States. This gave alternative bands a broader venue even before the popularity of alternative music in the United States.
          During the height of success for alternative rock music, many record companies handed out the name to bands that fit the requirements loosely at best. This was done in hopes that the label of alternative would help sales. However, looking back one can see that some of this music was more pop than alternative.

Nirvana

A good example of an alternative rock music video would be this one by Nirvana called Smells Like Teen Spirit. Throughout this video conventions of a stereotypical alternative rock video are used, and from this style of video there are a lot of idea we could use. This includes the dark setting, shots in time with the beat of the music, low angles etc.

Alternative Rock Conventions

For our music video we decided to look into alternative rock; this was due to everyone in our group taking an interest in this style of music and enjoying the diversity of ideas this style of music portrays in its music videos. Convention of a successful alternative rock music video general consist of:

-Close up shots of the band (lead vocalist).

-Shots of the instruments used in the music.

-Cut away shots between the band and shots resembling a storyline are generally used.

-The video is film and edited so that the shots fit to the beat of the song.

-Lip syncing is used however doesn't dominate the video as other shots such as close up and establishing shots can also be used.
-A variety of shot types are used and edited using different shot lengths.
-Lots of editorial techniques appear in alternative rock music videos such as fading transitions, lighting adjustments etc.

Our Holiday House by More Madness

During my holiday away my family and I put together a music video to the song Our House by Madness. This was so that I could practise shot types and angles, as well understanding how to put the lip syncing to music and how to direct and prduce a music video. In doing this I have gained more ideas as to what we could do in our final music video and have learnt what does not work or I need practise in doing.

The whole thing was shot on an iPhone 5 and edited using iMovie on an iPad. I then used a grading app to change the colouring and make the finished product HD.

Throughout the process I enjoyed film and editing the individual shots together, however struggled to put the music to the video. I also cut out a verse and one of the choruses of the song meaning to was difficult to match the music together without any jumps however feel it was successfully done. We cut a section out of the song due to the length which I think will need to be taken into consideration when choose our final song.

The finish product is called Our Holiday House by More Madness. Actor are Jason Michaelidies, Jo Michaelidies, Dan Barnett and Thomas Barnett; and I filmed, directed and produced the final product.

Video link:
http://vimeo.com/103633438

Blooper link:
http://vimeo.com/103760698