Prop Planning

The main props we plan to use are the costume for the lead character in the video which will be the typical thieves costume, the plan is to have the character being seen in everyday places wearing the outfit.

Below is similar to the one we plan to use.

We are still undecided about the use of instruments in the final video, but we will do some filming so guitars, drum kits, microphones etc. will also be shot in a few takes.

Blur Video Analysis

Parklife - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIEsmGzo2UE

The video is performance based, but has some narrative elements within the main story. The video follows two of the band members throughout the video as they drive around London. All the band members are seen at some stage, and they are all dressed to represent the genre in fashionable clothing for the time the video was shot. There is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals when the singer makes reference to things they usually occur in the video in a comedic way. The music and the visuals are also linked; the video cuts when major drum beats occur. The scenes speed up at the chorus when the tempo of the song is increased making the video and the song feel like one piece, instead of two separate beings. The majority of the video contains close-ups of the band members showing strong demands from the record label to have the band seen as they were so big. There are several intertextual references to other pieces; the biggest of which being to The Beatles album art for Abbey Road where the band walk single file over the zebra crossing, which is repeated in the Park Life video.

Country House - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci0fyRAw21Q

The video is a both performance and narrative, with the lead singer being pictured throughout singing the lyrics of the song as they are heard, he is seen in front of a series of scenes that tell the story throughout the song. The first shot in the video is of a london tower block which juxtaposes the song title, the video continues to tell a story of the life and death of a man who leaves the hustle of the city to live a far slower paced life in the country. The video demonstrates strong genre characteristics with the members of the boy band all having a laugh at each others expense and using lip syncing to show the lyrics. The story in the video is taken almost word for word from the song lyrics and illustrates exactly what is meant by the lyrics. The music and the visuals are quite vaguely linked, with the cuts of the video occasionally being in time with the drum beat or the change in guitar. Throughout the video the lead singer is seen predominantly; highlighting the demands of the record label, with the need for the band to be seen. There are several intertextual references throughout the video the most obvious of which is to the board game 'Mouse Trap', which is seen several times in the video; with some of the characters using a giant version of the game. There is also a clear reference to Balzac, a French playwright and novelist in the 1600's.

The Beatles Music Video Analysis

Can't Buy Me Love - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8zx68HENIA

The video is taken from the film A Hard Days Night and thus shows a section of the film making it a narrative video. It is a typical Beatles video, where the members of the band are messing around and find themselves in trouble. Throughout the video we only see the four band members and one other character, who is from the film, that tells them to get off the private property. There is no obvious link between the lyrics and the visuals of the video, there is a link between the music and the video however, with an upbeat track being reciprocated by jumping and running by the members of the band. There are lots of close ups of the band, this is to do with both their relation to the movie, and the demands of the record label. There are very few occasions where they look directly into the camera as they are still in character for the film and not recording a standard music video.

Twist n Shout - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVlr4g5-r18

The video is completely performance with the majority of the video being made up of just two shots of the lead singer and then the two guitarists doing backing vocals. There is only a small relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, the content of the lyrics is about being in love, and the visuals show the band members in very happy upbeat moods, apart from this there is no link between the two. The music and the visuals have the same link as there is snappy editing which helps to highlight the theme and mood of the piece. The demands of the record label can be clearly seen with all of the video showing the faces of the members of the band. The whole band are wearing matching outfits and are dressed fashionably as of when the video was shot.

I Want To Hold Your Hand - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAgZ295t4Oo&feature=related

Once again the video is completely performance based, the video is shot in one room and it consists of the band playing the music as it is heard throughout. In the background of the shot there is a mock up of the front page of the 'Daily Echo' which is a newspaper from Liverpool where the band are from. The band members are again wearing matching suits which brings them together and unites them more so than if they were in a mixture of different outfits, it also represents their style with slim fitting trousers and jackets. Once again it is the tempo of the music and lyrics that links to the video, with the members of the band all smiling and dancing showing their character. There is no point in the video where the camera is not on one of the men, which is exactly what the audience want to see, their favourite band performing their favourite songs.

Kasabian Album Art Review

Kasabian - Kasabian(2004)

The cover for the bands first album is extremely simple, using a black background with the silhouette of a masked man in the centre. The album is self-entitled, thus the reason for it to only have the bands name on the front. The colour of the sillouette changed from region to region, pictured left is the US cover art, whereas the UK release had a white silhouette. The image on the cover is quite provocative with most of the mans face being covered with a scarf or rag, giving the thought that he may be dangerous or unpredictable because he is trying to hide his appearance. The fact that the man looks directly at the viewer also makes it more personal and is slightly diconcerting due to his appearance.

Kasabian - Empire(2006)

The cover for the bands second album is just as unconvential as that of the first, with the band not being pictured on the front. Once again the bands name is seen in the font style that is seen on the first, and just below this can be seen the title of the album 'Empire'. There is a clear link between the album's title and its cover with the King of Clubs from a deck of cards being pictured having obvious relevance to the title Empire.

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum(2009)

On the cover for West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum the members of the band are seen for the first time on one of their albums, however they are not pictured as they would normally be dressed; the band are pictured dressed as people who would be seen in the asylum, and they are looking at themselves in a mirror. Once again the same font is used for the bands name and 'Kasabian' can clearly be seen at the bottom of the artwork; however it is not as clear or 'in the face' of the viewer as the previous two albums, this may be because they are bigger band now and people know who it is without having to read their name. The band have said that they took inspiration from Aman Duul II's cover for 'Made in Germany' which was released in 1969 and there are some clear comparisons that can be made between the two.

Below: Amon Duul II's cover for 'Made in Germany(1969) which is said to be an inspiration for West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.

Bombay Bicycle Club Video Analysis

Always Like This - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj-A-XPMnhY

The video is performance based, but not like usual performance videos. The band are seen around a town playing in several different places. Each member of the band is seen playing on their own before coming together in a wider shot. The video does demonstrate the characteristics of the genre; the band are not dressed up in any way, they are just wearing clothes that they would usually be seen in. There is a link between the lyrics and the visuals, which makes the video fit well with the song. There is also a clear link between the music and the visuals; the song has quite an upbeat rhythm which fits in with lots of fast paced cuts seen in the video. There are lots of close ups of the band; mainly the lead singer, he consistently looks into the camera making it feel like he is performing to the viewer.

Dust On The Ground - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPgetSbJ8II

As with the previous video the band are seen wearing clothes that you would expect them to wear in day to day life, so there are clear genre characteristics in the video. There is no clear relationship between either the music and the visuals, or the lyrics and the visuals. The video is a narrative which shows the band sneaking into what appears to be an all girls drama school before being spotted and ruining out. The demands of the record label are clear with multiple close-ups of the faces of the band members , in particular the lead singer. There is a point in the video where the band are spotted and there are a series of shots where all the girls that have been seen in the video turn and look directly into the camera.

Magnet - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkKJHYHCt6Q

The video for Magnet is performance based, the band are seen in a white room playing the song throughout. The camera never leaves the room and all that can be seen are the band, their instruments and a door at the back. Superimposed onto the walls is another video, which appears to be a montage of lots of small video clips. There is no clear link between the song lyrics and the video that plays in the background. The music and the visuals are linked however, when the song speeds up there is more movement from the band and the lighting in the shot flickers and changes the colour and mood of the room they are in. There are a few close-ups of the band members but not as many as in either of the other videos that i reviewed. There is no stage when any of the band looks directly into the camera, so it feels that the camera is not in the room with them and they are just playing for themselves.

Kasabian Video Comparison

Fire - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQClR22WV0Y

The video is narrative based the members of the band are shown robbing a bank but the guns are swapped for guitars and instead of money they steal music sheets. The lyrics and the story that is told in the video are completely unrelated, so it can be watched without the sound. There are points where the music climaxes, and the video fits in with these changes in tempo. At the very beginning of the video there is a brief narration from the lead singer of the band, this coincides with images of him in character looking into a mirror, the narration talks about drunkenness and the images of the man represent this. The video then cuts to the bag of music sheets on the floor which the video goes full circle back to at the end.

Where Did All The Love Go - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG1nzOoyy1I

The video is a mix of narrative and performance, the main story revolves around a traveling circus which the band are playing at throughout. There is no obvious link between the lyrics and the visuals, but the music does match up with them. It is a medium paced song in which a heavy drum beat stands out most, this combines with the lots of cuts in the video to create something which fits together well. There are lots of close-ups with the lead singer of the band who is consistently looking into the camera, the video also depicts the story of a woman who is not clothed, she also looks into the camera when she is in picture to continue the frequent reference to the notion of looking.

The Maccabees Video Comparison

No Kind Words

The entire video is made up of two or three different shots with a two-shot of the men taking up the majority of the time. It shows two men talking to each other which vaguely relates to the words of the song as the tow men may be sorting out their differences. Close-ups of one of the men (Matt Horne) are used to show his emotion, which highlights his distress and anguish. Digital effects have been added onto the plan black background of the video which seems to have no relation to the narrative that is being depicted, although I feel that these effects do enhance the video as a whole.

Can You Give It

The video is of the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and wake annual competition; it shows a man in training for the event and later winning. The video has no relation to the lyrics of the song. The band does not appear in the video at any stage, and it feels like there is no relation to them or their music. Throughout the video several different people are seen such as the cheese makers and the competition judges, this builds up several layers to the story which is being told. The video is completely narrative based, although there is no story telling from the lyrics of the song.

Love You Better

The video is completely performance based with the band members of The Maccabees being the only people seen throughout. The video starts with shots of the band against an all black background, this combined with the men looking into the camera a lot makes it feel as though the band are performing for the viewer. There are several cuts to a freeze-frame of the band members where they are rotated and playing various instruments, giving a more detailed picture of each person. Throughout the video a number of digital effects are used which stop the video from being just a shot of the band performing, this gives the video another dimension which is makes it a more interesting piece.

All three of these videos are from The Maccabees latest album, however there seems to be no trend to them whatsoever. All three are completely different with only very few similarities. The main one being the neon digital effects used in both No Kind Words and Love You Better.

A2 Group

For the A2 music video coursework I will be working in a group with Marcus Whiteway and Conor Harris and the song that we will be making a video for is Kasabian - Thick As Thieves

Music Video - Research and Analysis

Why Do People Watch Music Videos?

• Learn the songs
• Watch/listen to a song or genre
• Escape reality
• Flicking through tv channels
• Voyeurism
• Understand and interpret lyrics

Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

• Narrative/Performance video - it tells the story of her upbringing and becoming a big star/celebrity. And not forgetting where she came from.
• Pop video - certain cliche moments - such as performing in front of an audience, and working down the red carpet.
• The video shows quite a serious message about not forgetting your roots and being true to yourself as a person.
• The artist is represented as being a strong character after having a difficult upbringing, she as shown as l young girl who is vulnerable. Then transforming into the strong star that is seen at the end of the video.
• The video and the song are very compatible with the lyrics narrating the story that is depicted.
• I think that the target audience are young girls and teenagers, who Kelly Clarkson has aimed her music at.
• I feel that the video adds depth to the music of the song, allowing the viewer to see exaclty what she is singing about, without taking a stab in the dark to the meaning behind the lyrics.