Meta-Narrative: Amanda Rogers

Because our artist is still establishing her image within her genre, the changes that have taken place in Amanda Rogers's narrative have not been that drastic up until recently. Her "sound" is also a unique blend of jazz, blues, pop and rock influences which makes it that much harder to construct a memorable iconographic image to categorize. However, most of her songs seem to be classed as pop blues/indie. 

 Meta-Narrative: Amanda Rogers

Amanda Rogers is not a mainstream music artist. If anything (particularly the song our group chose for our music video) Rogers goes against many of the conventions of mainstream music, and is very much a unique musical artist. Starting out independently in music, Amanda didn't have many major labels steering her in the "right" direction, so naturally her initial star image wasn't a very bold beginning since she was still finding her sound. Her first record is very much about the piano, the soft ambient vocals and the haunting lyrics, a combination that Amanda calls "bedroom ambiance".  For this reason, her initial album artwork evoked this haunted and empty feeling through the broken windowed building and the faded colours of the artwork. The typography was similarly very lifeless and simple, empty of unnecessary embellishments just as the music was similarly honest and personal, sharing strong personal emotions and experiences. It's interesting that for a debut album, Amanda chose not to reveal her appearance as this is typically the convention of debuts and arguably the most important convention since it is the first image released to the audience of the performer. The photographs on Amanda's website have a lot to say about her musical journey, and a gradual transformation can be seen. The images below are what we predict were taken with the initial album as the level of professionalism of the photography improves throughout the collection. The photographs below are clearly taken at gigs and evoke a very independent non-stylised setting, presenting a young musician with the instrument that's present on all her albums and almost every song- the piano. Amanda's appearance in costume doesn't strongly evoke a particular genre of music, but the  overall style of Manda comes across as something quite original and fashionable in a non-trendy way. In the subtleties of her clothes and even in these early photos something about her appearance seems "quirky"- for lack of a better word. Although its quite an established cliché, her untied long hair connotes to a very seventies, bohemian style in addition to the vintage and colourful combination of clothes. Even though these photos may have been taken at gigs due to certain budget restrictions, they still present her very much as a person who has a close relationship with the music she produces and an independent artist making a name for herself.

Daily News - 2004

By the time Daily News came out, Amanda's music matured a great deal since the first album. The music maintained the grounded, simple and eerie sound of her haunting vocals with a piano lead, perhaps with more layers in her music and a less "guerilla-style" sound as her bio describes it. All of these tracks sound professionally recorded, compared to the previous album which contained some music layers that didn't sound like they were recorded in a studio, but had quite a 2D sound,  lacking depth. The photography for this album also appears to have matured and has a more professional aesthetic compared to the previous album, which in my opinion wasn't portrayed to its greatest through the iconography. I think the iconography and typography for this stage of Amanda's star image works much better in establishing her image. I mentioned in a previous post how the typewriter font is often used to reflect a different, older period of time, working well with artists who draw upon older music influences or have a "retro" style. Being a performer who was greatly influenced by the jazz and blues genre, Amanda's music combines very well with the connotations to the typography. Her bohemian style is, again, reflected here through the halter-neck maxi dress, her iconic long hair and bare-footedness.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue - EP



I personally view this EP as the beginning of Amanda's "heartwood" phase in her meta-narrative. The presence of artwork for the cover of this EP represents her love for nature and contains some of the basic colours of the following Heartwood album. The word "art-rock" was mentioned in the biography on the Amanda's website in the context of discussing this EP. This genre emerged during the 1970's and (according to Wikipedia) attempted to merge rock with jazz and blues influences, something that is most definitely echoed throughout Amanda's music. If there would be one era in music with which Amanda would identify, I think the 70's would be the closest. Nature's role, not only in her music but in her general star image is apparent through the bohemian style of clothing she wears to the iconography of her website.

I think this is the phase where Amanda was getting the typography and the iconography right for her image. The typography immediately suggests a certain freedom about her music and works very well with the natural and positive colouring and illustration on the front cover.

Heartwood - 2006-2008



Compared to the other stages in Amanda's narrative, Heartwood is the album that stands out the most to me. This is about the stage where her passion for caring for nature started to seep through into her music and started to become a very important aspect of her official star image. It hadn't been so obvious before through the iconography and typography of the artwork, but is a key theme of this album. The very first track on this album begins with sounds of birds chirping and other natural music before the vocals begin introducing this theme. Whereas with the previous two albums, the eerie vocals and haunting lyrics were what united all the songs, with Heartwood it is the theme of natural beauty and embracing what's on the inside. You could go as far as saying that Heartwood is a concept album through the way Amanda used the metaphor of the "heartwood" of a tree for what she was experiencing. In the interiors of her album there is a diagram explaining this metaphor:

Heartwood is the central part of a tree trunk. It is apparently dead, yet without its support the tree would not be able to survive. According to the above image, "as the tree ages the heartwood part grows in diameter whereas the sapwood remains the same". The idea of the dead yet vital part of the tree reflects the importance of recognizing self-beauty coming from within. The sapwood external to the heartwood "remains the same", but the inside changes and grows, just as the true nature and being of a person will grow and continue to support it's physical vessel- exterior beauty. As you can see, Amanda and nature are represented as one being in the photograph above. She is central to the tree and this photo is very symbolic of how she sees herself in relation to nature. Through featuring a tree metaphor on the internal parts of the album as well as natural brown font connoting to forests and a photo in a wooded area, it's obvious how important the location of "the forest" is to this album which we incorporated into our own music video.

This album saw the revival of a couple songs from her more experimental first two albums, one of which turned out to be the most popular song of the record and our chosen track- This Beauty. The new Heartwood version of this song had many more musical layers, an increased tempo and clearer recorded vocals. The artwork for this album took this theme of nature very literally through the hand drawn typography and painted artwork which Amanda had created herself. Of all of Amanda's albums up to this point, Heartwood is the album that has a stronger "pop" influence. This can be heard through the typical verse/chorus/bridge structure and a variety of musical layers and motifs.

Compared to Daily News and The Places You Dwell, Heartwood is a more positive album, featuring more up-beat tracks contrasting to the sometimes sombre, quieter previous songs. This was our first sign that perhaps a more quicker editing pace than usual is required for this music video, to match the positivity and quick tempo of the song. The album reflects a sudden urge to embrace life, look after nature and has a generally more positive sound and outlook on the world. Heartwood screams sunshine, summer and forests which was taken into consideration when creating our music video. We did our best to incorporate these things into the construction of our music video, however with the short amount of summer days remaining we didn't want to compromise planning and research for lighting.

Below are some of the images from this stage of Amanda's meta-narrative from which we drew upon for inspiration.

WILD - Amanda's Current Star Image

Amanda is currently going through the bridge between the Heartwood star image and the new WILD stage in her meta-narrative. This album hasn't been released yet, but the change can already been seen through the change in typography for the website and album and through the the promotional photographs (such as the one above). Her previous website design was closer to the appearance to her previous two albums- Heartwood and Hope From The Forgotten Woods, but with the new promotion the design has been updated to something replicating the new album artwork. It is a common convention for the design of an artists' website to become updated with each new album release, obviously to promote it. Evidently the bright cream, brown and pink hue combination of Heartwood has transformed into the sepia/black and white style displayed in the photo below, evoking the style of an aged photograph which still maintains her bohemian image but perhaps this has been stylised a little. If you observe the photograph of Amanda in the background below, the costume and intricate head piece as well as the general professionalism of the photograph are all signs of her star image maturing and channelling a specific bohemian star image. Over time, the more Amanda has created music, the more her star images have become controlled, contrasting to the blurry beginning which seemed a little blurry and less defined through the typography and iconography. Judging by the photo for the album artwork and the title WILD we may be able to guess the key location of the album will be open, wide areas, connoting to wildness and freedom and contrasting to the previous wooded and quietly beautiful areas of Heartwood and Hope From The Forgotten Woods.

Our aim has been to reconstruct the "Heartwood" stage in Amanda's meta-narrative. I think that throughout this process we've drawn upon influences from both this stage in her meta-narrative as well as the current star image; perhaps employing the professional, spacious feel of the new star image whilst maintaining the natural and imperfect feel of Heartwood. 

Analysing Music Videos: Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

Artist: Gnarls Barkley "Crazy"
Genre: R 'n' B
Director of Music Video: Robert Hales
Category: Performance/Concept


Genre Characteristics
After having explored a general number of \r 'n' \b music videos, it's fair to say Gnarls' Barley's music video does not follow the typical conventions used in most videos of this genre. To begin with, idealization and reference to the notion of looking are very popular conventions amongst the genre, usually due to the explicit song topics explored throughout the lyrics. This music video does not use very much sexualization to intrigue the viewer, but makes use of a more concept based music video to this instead. This in my opinion is what makes this music video so successful is the fact that it breaks stereotypical conventions but somehow manages to still encapsulate the feel of the song and genre. From another perspective you could say that for the exact reason that this video differentiates itself from others is what makes it fit in with the genre. One thing I think makes it work is the black and white filter which gives the video a very stylized look, common amongst R n B music videos.

I think that what Robert Hales was trying to do is to link this idea of going "crazy" that Gnarls Barkley explore in the song with the Rorschach inkblot test. He cleverly constructs his music video with a variety of images using the aesthetic of an "ink" medium with hidden images inside said pictures.

Above are visual examples of the Rorschach ink blot tests that Rorschach himself conducted as a method of discovering mental disabilities amongst his patients. 

Relationship Between the Visuals and the Music

• Ink drops start falling to the introductory beats of the song. Instantly establishes a relationship between the visuals and the music. The drops then spread into the first image or illustration in which Gnarls' Barkley's lead man can be seen miming to the song. At this point you could say the performance aspect is introduced, whilst being incorporated into the conceptual visuals. The ink continues spreading and there's a subtle change in movement within the inkblot on screen. The occasional ink drop will fall on an important beat
•  

Analysing Music Videos: 21 Guns - Green Day

Artist: Green Day "21 Guns"
Genre: Punk/rock
Director of Music Video: Marc Webb
Category: Narrative/Performance/Concept

My Interpretation
This song (as any other) can have many interpretations. In the context of the album, 21 guns is talking about a sudden loss in faith when you realise everything you've been fighting for has been for nothing  and realising what is actually worth the fight.

However in context of the album, the following quote pretty much says it all.
In a very broad and simplistic interpretation, 21 Guns' lyrics are about 'giving up the fight' and surrendering to an unwinnable or worthless conflict. When taken on its own out of the 21CB story-arc, the song's lyrics can be interpreted as anti-war, however when applied to the story of Christain and Gloria, its meaning is far less global, instead they're referring to their relationship and all its conflicts. Up until this point on the album, Christian has been the angry, self-destructive, disenfranchised, left-behind rebel that's trying to fight against 'the system' of post-Bush America, while Gloria has been his rock and stabilising force; a guiding light of rebellious femininity at the end of his own dark tunnel. This song is the tipping point for the pair's already rocky relationship; Gloria is questioning Christian on his beliefs, values and feelings (the first verse), and ultimately trying to get him to stop walking down the path of martyrdom - she's trying lay down to rest the soldier within him with a 21-gun salute.

Relationship Between Lyrics & Visuals

Conventions Used

• Features full band 
• Performance aspect combined with narrative 
• Dark/punky colours 

Location

It's interesting that this entire music video takes place in the space of a single room. The song is discussing standing back and thinking about what it is you're fighting for, and so it fits the idea perfectly. Two people are stuck in a room together, fleeing the police- they have no where else to go. So in this small space, there's nothing left to do but stop and think. This is reflected in the way the man (Christian) is symbolically rolling the bullet between his fingers at the beginning of the song- he is contemplating what the bullet is worth. 

Narrative/Concept/Performance?
It is impossible to give this music video simply one label since it fits into all three. The song was taken from a concept album. The concept involved the story and struggle between these two characters shown in the music video-Christian and Gloria. They are the icon for the album from which this single was released. In fact at one point- the image on the front cover is replicated in the 350 shot where Christian and Gloria kiss. Therefore they are the concept. The performance aspect is self-explanatory and involves the entire band of Green Day performing in the same space where Christian and Gloria are hiding. The narrative apparently involves these two characters who are fleeing the police, for what purpose- is not clearly obvious through the music video. But the again- perhaps this is part of the message. If we do not know why they are fleeing and what they are fighting for and they're having doubts themselves, what is the point of the fight? Throughout the music video, subtle hints are made to what the characters are experiencing. An obvious example would be the shot of the broken glass reflecting Christian's conflicted spirit on the verge of surrender. A link I found interesting was the low angle shot of the phone ringing during the lyric "when your mind breaks the spirit of your soul". I interpreted the phone as a symbol for Gloria's thoughts calling out to her and talking her heart out of the pointless conflict hence "her mind breaks the spirit of her soul". 
There is obviously a parallel between the performance aspect of the video and the narrative aspect. Both seem to be occurring at the same time (you can tell by the time the guns start shooting through the walls) and in the same space yet in different places. It makes the performance and the performers more linked to the reality of the characters and as the lyrics are sung the characters are experiencing those very emotions.

Music Video: Chosen Artist

This song was written when I was 13 years old. It is about finding the strength to not be affected by the media and magazines that portray "beauty" as something unattainable. This is an anthem-like song to help others find and embrace their own beauty. I rerecorded it for my latest record Heartwood because to me, this is an important song. Who gets to decide beauty anyway? We are all so different and the differences are where beauty lies.

                                                                               - Amanda Rogers on writing This Beauty
             

Artist: Amanda Rogers 

Genre: Piano/Pop/Indie

Song: This Beauty

Album: Heartwood 

Amanda discovered her passion for music in her teens, chanelling the turbulent emotions through her lyrics and what has been described as "aleatoric music". 

Aleatoric Music - Music in which some element of the composition is left to chance (Wikipeidia) 

Her style is anything but unoriginal combining soft piano with pop, indie, jazz and blues influences. The previous recordings are very much rougher sounding acoustics and her musical arrangement has developed and been explored with time. Having made eight albums in total, a change of image is unavoidable and the refinement of recent albums is evident when compared to earlier recordings. The album from which we'll be using the song is one of the most recent, leaning more towards the refined end of the spectrum. The development of her self-image is evident not only through the music but also in web design, professional photos, the development of a clothing line and graphic design. I would say Amanda Rogers's image has simply been enhanced, rather than gone through a drastic image change.


Representation
                                           
Whilst coming up with ideas for our music ideas, we thought quite a lot about how exactly we would be representing Amanda visually and what was key to include, as well as what wasn't part of her self-image. Through exploring her website, we concluded that featuring a natural location somewhere was absolutely KEY as her role in sustaining and caring for the environment is quite a large part of her self image. Most of her photos feature in woods, or in some sort of natural location, and she is known to be quite the tree fanatic. This love of nature ties in with her signifying natural beauty. Her fashion sense and general visual self-representation doesn't involve much artificial make-up and trendy clothing. She seems to wear almost hippy-like clothing and colours, however in a fashionable way. Headbands seem to be a recurring accessory in most of her photos. Whatever photos there are of Amanda in natural locations, the rest seem to mostly contain her performing her songs live. We aim to incorporate a similar (as possible) costume in our video as well as a significant amount of trees and other natural locations. Similarly, natural (looking) lighting is what we intend to use for our location as opposed to some of the harsh and dramatic lighting pop music videos tend to use. 


In the process of planning our shoot we drew inspiration from some of the photos posted on Amanda's website and even considered replicating a couple photos taken for the album "Heartwood".

We thought the best way to contact our artist was directly via e-mail from the contact information given on the website. Seeing as she manages her own music, we assumed she would hold most of the copyrights for the requested track. Below is an image of our e-mail to Amanda and the reply.

Editing in Music Videos

When editing for cinema, music is extremely important, but not as essential as establishing a relationship between the music and visuals in music videos. Contrasting to film, in music videos the visuals are created to fit with the music. Music videos are a form of film at the end of the day, and the key is to make subtle connections between what is going on in the musical track and in the film to establish the difference between a film with music put to it and a music video.

Whilst exploring some articles on what people recommend on how to edit a music video, I came across this post- http://www.thevideogenius.com/how-to-edit-a-music-video/. Later in the article, the following is mentioned:

Play the song until you feel an edit. I learned the method of feeling edits from Walter Murch‘s book “In the Blink of an Eye” He teaches to play the clip until you feel an edit and hit pause when you do. Keep doing that until you pause on the same exact frame 3 times in a row. I’m not usually that strict about it, I’ll usually do it until I hit the same frame twice or I’ll split the difference if it’s close and play it a couple times to feel it out. In my opinion timing is something you feel based on the music and the footage.

The feeling of where an edit lies is mostly how our group have been editing our music video and our film opening at the end of AS. This is a very important skill to have in editing any video, because it demands your eyes to read what's on the screen, if the viewer watches the video and an edit isn't cut in the right place it will be obvious and as a result disconnect them from the song. The importance of this skill is heightened in the editing process of music videos as the music isn't just a part of the film but partnered with the visuals, meaning both need to "fit" with the other (or rather the visuals need to fit with the music). Mostly, I would say it's about feeling an edit rather than working it out systematically, and where an edit needs to be depends on the genre of music/style of song. Through the music video research I have conducted so far I would say the quicker the tempo of the song the more cuts are in the music video. 

Our group, for example, explored an artist similar to ours (pretty much in the same genre) and analysed the editing whilst considering the following points:

Go Back by Marketa Irglova

1. How many cuts were in the video?

Around 49 cuts in total. Quite a few were faded into the following shot, but most were straight cuts. Although there aren't an abundance of cuts, this is compensated for by the pace in each shot maintained through the movement within each shot e.g the flow of water, which fits perfectly with the instrumentation. Although the tempo isn't upbeat there is still momentum in the instruments (particularly in the instrumental). 

2. Was the editing shrinking or expanding time?

Because the music video didn't tell a full narrative it doesn't evoke a strong sense of shrinking or expanding time because of the variety of shots. On the other hand it's possible that due to the variety of locations shot at different points in time, there was a sensation of time being shrunk. Each shot individually was slowed/sped up (depending on the shot) backwards to show the action reversing in reflecting the idea of going back on one's actions in the song. Most shots were slowed down, however all increased in speed as the music gained momentum from the moment of the instrumental (1:38). 

3. At what points were the cuts mostly made?

As in most music videos, the cuts during this video were made to the beat of the song or a change in one of the musical layers. I think it's important that a music video maintains a balance between timing the visuals to the music, to the extent where a video will fit naturally to the audience's visual expectations, however be ever so slightly varied from time to time. A shot doesn't necessarily need to stay in sync with the obvious tempo all the time, as I mentioned before, a cut may occur when another instrument kicks in or a motif begins to maintain the relationship with the visuals but at the same time differentiate a bit. 

Analysing Music Videos: In These Arms - The Swell Season

Artist: The Swell Season "In These Arms"
Genre: Folk/Acoustic/Pop
Director of Music Video: Unknown
Category: Concept/Performance

My Interpretation

Chronological Analysis

• Shot of a hand turning on an analogue player of some sort. At the precise moment the hand turns the music begins.
• The video is mainly shot in Black and White. A technique not uncommon to this kind of genre of music. Many "artsy" (I don't mean this in a pretentious way) music videos employ the use of Black & White often to portray the seriousness of their music/song and set a profound tone to their video. Some artists have used this to greater effect in their videos than others and have successfully managed to encapsulate the feel of the song whilst enhancing the appeal. Meanwhile other artists seem to have used this as a shortcut to grasping the audience's heart strings and used the cliché in the wrong fashion. This music video does come across as artistic but in a way fits the genre and artists and isn't over done- it's very subtle. In some cases (as this one) you could argue also the low-budget artistic look of the video brings the viewer into a closer realtionship with the music and the visuals. Sometimes when an audience is observing something glamourous and far-fetched, yes it can appear as visually pleasing and stimulaing, however the relationship with the music isn't as emotional because the line dividing reality and the "hollywood" world hasn't merged. 

Shooting Journal

One thing I discovered during the production of our music video is how different the approach is to filming a narrative film. The editing to production importance is 50:50 in a narrative film I would say, however in a music video probably 40:60 in a music video. For this reason it was hard to say what shot would work and what shot wouldn't, particularly also since there was a significant amount more of jump cuts in our music video- the editing of which will come together in post-production. The editing of our film opening did "happen" in post, but we kind of knew the sequence of shots and I certainly had a clearer vision of how the final product would turn out, compared to This Beauty. To be honest, we all agreed that we felt less prepared with this so we cleaned up our research and planning and did everything as we did in AS but it still didn't change the feeling of unpreparation.

Production Day - One
I didn't really feel prepared like I knew what to expect from shooting on the first day and we unfortunately got off to late start. Not only did we arrive two hours later than planned but once there, the location had to be dressed for our first scene which was shot at the Heartwood tree. We decided to film in the wooded areas first before the lighting became impossible to shoot in- something you consider but don't actually realize the effect of until you shoot in such conditions. The way that we decided to organize our shooting was to do certain sections from the song to certain areas in the parks. The problem that we realized with this was that an idea would arise later or we ran out of rushes and we'd need more. After this experience we discovered the term "full song run-through" and found it very useful in future post-production. On the second and third day we made sure that no matter what we shot we'd shoot the entire song to ensure we got as much coverage as possible and to save time re-`shooting in the future. Unless of course, it was a specific part of our narrative, like the discovery of the heart for example, which we managed to shoot very quickly, also since our vision for this scene in particular was very clear and we knew what we needed.

The image below is the positioning of the cameras during the Heartwood scene. We thought the best way we could increase our productivity was to shoot from different angles- it is also a convention of music videos to contain different perspectives of the same artist or scene, particularly during still shots to give a sense of movement to the music video.

Production Day - Two
After very severe weather warnings and a post on the Langley park website mentioning its closure, we were expecting to cancel the shoot due to the severe damage done over night and in the morning. We started to come up with alternate locations, similar to Black Park where we could shoot the same footage. Luckily, half-way through the day, the park reopened after clearing out the damage done by the storm. As we were delayed because of weather restrictions, we had to move quickly due to loss of light. We tried to be more productive this time round, with two cameras operating at the same time, shooting two different scenes. Whilst I shot a couple scenes with Lorna walking through the woods, Keeley and Cary were shooting the filler nature shots not too far from us. The productivity was a lot better than the previous shoot, however as expected, the lighting started to change drastically. Following this we decided to shoot the red thread on the branches before we ran out of time. One minor fault in our plan we didn't consider were the branches on the floor. After the storm there had been a significant increase in fallen trees and twigs making it harder to hold the camera steady and resulting in shakier shots. According to our storyboard we were making very slow progress and started to realize the quantity of footage we actually needed.

Shots Complete: Red thread track, roaming through woods, "and those greens and those blues" shot, nature shots,

Production Day - Three
This shoot only took up a short amount of time, since we were two team members short, including our lead performer. Our aim was to collect any extra nature shots and get them all completed during the two hours of shooting so we wouldn't waste time during future filming days. It was a real shame our team mates couldn't make this production day (or production evening) since the sky was the clearest it'd been since and the sunset was beautiful. It is also unfortunate that the day our members were missing there is perfect lighting for once during this week. Funnily enough, these few perfect shots we managed to capture contrast to the previous poorly lit shots and therefore will need to be adjusted in post-production.

Shots Complete: silver lining shot, red thread track, nature shots

Production Day Four
After many attempts at organising a day where we could conclude our shoot, we were all eager to finish this project and were at the height of our productivity during this final day. The preparation and planning for this final day of the shoot was as precise as it could be- we ensured we had plenty of time to shoot in appropriate lighting conditions, wrote out a shot list in order of priority and operated using three camera this time instead of two. Of course the temperature wasn't any warmer than the previous days which restricted the time we would spend shooting Lorna due to the inappropriate summer clothing which was our one major flaw in preparation- although there's only so many hand warmers and snuggies you can carry into a forest on top of camera equipment.



The photo above shows our camera positioning for the first scene of the shoot- the Heartwood tree. We planned on shooting this scene first for the same reasons as last time- lighting and set dressing time. The filming of this scene was more productive with three cameras in getting as much footage out of the scene as possible so then we'd have more to work with and chose from. After shooting various still shots of Lorna in the tree we then moved onto more dynamic tracking shots around the heartwood area. Once this was completed, "the photo tree" was the next shooting location.

This was a lot harder to shoot than anticipated, and as always we were losing lighting quicker than expected. It would've been useful for us to have visited the area before with Lorna and rehearse how we would film this scene. Perhaps also cutting out double the number of photos we had would've allowed us to film multiple times, but as we only had a limited number of photos we had to spend time trying out different positions to capture Lorna tearing down the photos metaphorically. Meanwhile, the wind picked up and the thin paper of the magazine photos meant they were flying about everywhere, which took time to adjust. Typically, this occurred when we were filming still shots.

The final problem we had to overcome was the limited amount of battery life available. Despite the fact that we had four batteries for three cameras, all of which were fully charged, by the time we finished the photo tree scene and moved onto the walkway scene, our batteries were running on their last drop of fuel. We had to work around this as best as we could, filming in snippets and turning off cameras in between shots. Although it was tough going, we all grew as a team- cooperating and working quickly and efficiently. By comparison to the film shoot, this was the most challenging and tiring experience that tested our flexibility, creativity, productivity and ability to adapt and make the most of a situation with limitations.

Music Video: Costume and Colours

Costume plays a key aspect in the construction of our iconography, probably the most important since it is the aspect that will be receiving the most attention in our music video. Nature is something that plays an important part in Amanda's image, and therefore will be a key theme in our project. It appears on nearly all the photographs on Amanda's website and Amanda herself has an eco-clothing line on the website Esty, promoting vintage and eco-friendly clothing. For this reason it was mutually decided that all of the colours and textures that Lorna will be wearing are going to be bright, natural colours all connoting to nature and natural beauty. Below is a collage our team mate Cary constructed to start to brainstorm ideas.




On the day of the location research, we decided that we were thinking of a possible costume contrasting a pair of biker-style boots (similar to images displayed above) with a short, bright dress which would reflect the similar contrast in the location between the rough, autumn-leafy ground and the bright green colours of the tree tops. The images of the dress below is the costume we have allocated specifically for this location. During our costume planning we also discussed a way of perhaps dotting parts of Lorna's costume and hair with flowers and other natural decorations. However, as it is not the season for many flowers, leaves were the alternative and fit in best with the autumn landscape anyway. The dress below is our completed costume with hand-sewn leaves to represent Amanda's close relationship with nature.

In addition to the dress above, we discussed having a "billowing dress" in some of our shots, to reflect the liberation from the pressures of being "perfectly beautiful" shot in the open areas of our locations. The sketch completed below by Cary demonstrates the ideas we had for either constructing this dress ourselves or (the most likely) using a pre-existing dress and simply adjusting it. 

Colour 

The colour selection for our music video will be the natural colour palette of our locations (green, brown, blue) in addition to the bright hues of the costumes. Green is going to be a particularly key colour, appearing in nearly every single shot due to the locations we're filming in and will most probably be accentuated in the post-production process. The colour of the thread is a primary concern of ours and if it will be bright and bold enough to stand out from the darker browns and greens in shot. For this reason and also to reflect a brighter mood, high-key lighting is what we will be aiming for to give our shots as much light as possible. This may prove to be a particular challenge considering our locations are mainly wooded areas. Through choosing neutral but bright colours for the costume hopefully the red colour of the string will stand out. 

Music Video: Storyboard

VKLC Storyboard 

The first scene we have of Amanda will be a side-on tracking shot of the string (Shot 1)  woven through the twigs on the floor, gradually catching up with Amanda's feet following the string. We liked the idea of starting the music video off with the diagetic sound of twigs crunching beneath our actresses feet (discussed in my location post) to introduce the location of the forest- the environment that best defines our performer and taking inspiration from the nature sounds at the beginning of Amanda's Heartwood album. The moment Lorna's feet come into shot is the moment the music will begin (Shot 2). As the intro gradually builds up to the verse, the camera will be tracking up to Amanda's face whilst still maintaining a side-on positioning (Shot 3). The moment the lyrics come in, the camera will start to move from its side-on positioning to revolve around our performers head and reveal her identity (Shot 4). 

Quickly establishing a relationship between the viewer and the performer, the shot where Amanda starts to sing the opening lines will be a stationary close-up with a shallow depth-of-field (Shot 5). During the line "I will find a silver lining sometime" the shot will switch to a mid shot (if we're lucky enough to get one- if not it will just be clouds) of a silver lining (Shot 6). Following this will be a shot that changes from sharp focus to blurred focus of our Langley park location, not only following a conventional shot in music videos but also matching the lyric "blur my vision" (Shot 7). Inter-cut shots of nature (Shot 8). 

As the tempo increases and the chorus begins, the camera will switch to a close-up of Amanda's feet running towards the camera to the beat of the song (Shot 9). The camera pans across Amanda performing by the Heartwood tree discovered during our location research- she smiles during the lyric "with every smile and every laugh there's something I will always lack" (Shot 10). A panning long shot follows this of Amanda moving in behind a tree whilst singing the lyric "an imperfected me will not be seen" (Shot 11). Shot in tandem with the lyric "burn forever in my mind"- a close-up of a magazine photo being burnt (Shot 12). 

Another panning long shot/mid shot of Amanda in the green wooded area to lyric "and those greens..." (Shot 13). Mid shot of clouds again- blue sky reflects lyric "and those blues" (Shot 14). Shot of magazine photos attached to tree in sync with lyric "there is something I will always lack" reflecting the idea of "perfection" we are all chasing within ourselves (Shot 15). Amanda runs towards camera- shot at a high angle (Shot 16). 

Close up shot of Amanda with direct eye contact- maintaining relationship between the viewer and the performer. In sync with lyric "this beauty is not clear to me" (Shot 17). As the music picks up tempo again we wanted to contrast the speed with the slow motion close up of the billowing dress, flowing through the hands of Amanda- close-up shot (Shot 18). During the final choruses, there will be shots of Amanda starting to tear down the "pictures of the magazines" reflecting her dismissal of fake or constructed, conventional beauty. Shot in sync with "burn the pages of the magazines" (Shot 19). (Shot 20) A combination of all the previous shots, inter-cut using a quick editing pace as the song reaches its peak in the song.

These final shots will be shot in the location of the Heartwood tree concluding the journey that our protagonist has experienced to find her inner beauty lies where her journey began- within herself. In sync with "this beauty will be clearer..." Amanda approaches the Heartwood tree in a mid-shot whilst singing these lyrics (Shot 21). When the lyric "...to me" is sung, Amanda will meet eye contact with the camera closing contact with the audience in a close-up shot (Shot 22). The final shot is a close-up of the heart being held in Amanda's hands. 

Music Video: Testing Shot

This was just an attempt (and a failed one) to practice shooting the first frame in our storyboard of the panning and catching up to Lorna's feet. One of the problems that we faced during this test was getting into a position to keep the camera movement steady, which we'll attempt to solve before the day of the shoot.

Music Video: Shot List

Thinking in terms of practicality we thought it best to shoot our music video over the course of two days. Granted that we have not shot a music video before, we are expecting to re-shoot after our scheduled shooting days. However, should everything go to plan and the weather cooperate we should be able to get the most important parts of our music video filmed and completed throughout the course of these two days. Seeing as Langley park includes most of the shots we thought it best to start off with this location- also because it is the most important of the two and will be most featured in the music video. Since we are already having to deal with low lighting conditions, we thought it would be wise to shoot in the poorest lit areas first- i.e. the forested area. Following this we would shoot the "filler shots" for our music video, including our nature close-ups and also the scenes taking place in open areas. 

After having visited Black park on our reccie day, we began to envision it as the area where we would shoot our red thread scenes in. In addition to this shot list, we wanted to give ourselves time for creative freedom and film any impulsive shots along side of these that may come to mind as we have discovered sometimes our best ideas come to us with an appropriate amount of creative freedom on the day of the shoot. 

Music Video: Lyric Analysis

Although the image below perhaps does not display it very clearly, it is the analysis of the lyrics to our music track. We approached this analysis using a similar process to the one we went through doing our textual analysis: establishing the very important (although sometimes unnoticeable) visual links with the lyrics. There were also many ideas circling round the group, but it would sometimes be difficult placing them within the visual timeline of the music video so we decided to annotate how we saw the order of shots being inter-cut throughout. 

We all agreed that nature is a VERY key character in this project, and therefore thought the best time to place these nature shots we were discussing would be at the beginning of the song. This- as in feature film- will principally establish the settings of our music video- a key convention in film of this genre according to our textual analysis. It's not uncommon for music videos to begin with the artist in frame, however since nature is such a vital aspect to Amanda's representation and to this song in particular, it would make sense for it to be established before the artist herself. 

The Importance of Music Videos

Chris Parr is the Vice President for music programminng and talent relations at CMT (country music television), which is a subsidary company of MTV. In this video he gives his insight into how music videos can help music (particularly country music) artists and the role CMT plays in establishing new artists. 

The internet has now become the prime platform for discovery of music, especially through the (quite recent - 8 years ago) establishment of Youtube. An interesting point that was mentioned in this video was the ease of discovery of new, up and coming artists, which is beneficial for us as an audience in broadening our musical tastes and marketing for the musicians. 

Many have argued that visuals are being put in priority before music, which to a certain extent is true, but no music video no matter its brilliance can compensate for the lack of quality of the music. At the end of the day, the visuals play the role of the intrigue that will hook audiences, the rest is up to the artist to figure out. Parr mentioned that the guarantee of the average person liking country music is low, compared to the possibility they like a particular artist associated with the genre. In a way this is healthy for the music industry, because not only is it allowing great new artists to become popular but also it's becoming more about their individuality and music than the preconceived stereotypes of the genre they belong to. As a result, these stereotypes of music genres are being broken as new music borrows and lends conventions of different genres and increases in individuality. This musical fusion therefore allows for a broader audience and finally, a greater revenue.Youtube is also no secret. Billions of people use this site every single day and a variety of different people discover the same music everyday. This as a result forms a broader fan base from different genres of music, and is again- free publicity stimulated by an audience. As with film, audiences are choosing and making what they want to see and hear, so it's important for an image to appeal to an audience just as much as the music.

According to Parr, it's been particularly hard for country musicians to break free of their genre stereotype and break into the mainstream. Music videos allowed for that to happen and give these musicians a chance to express themselves visually. Particularly since our society is mainly visually stimulated, you can see how important music videos are in forming a musical artists image. Parr also makes the point that music videos are essentially an entry point for niche genres (not only country artists), which gives their music the same chance to be discovered as with other artists. 

A music video is a chance for an artist to express themselves and establish their image. It can also help guide the audience to create their own understanding of the music/song, and establish a meaning for themselves. It creates a closer relationship with an audience particularly since audiences are becoming less passive with what they absorb online or TV. And it's not uncommon now for fans to make their own music videos, (it's even become a part of the A2 curriculum) and share their enthusiasm for the music, which as a result promotes the artist (for free) and develops future film makers. 

Should the music video be a success, it's then up to the distribution methods to fall into place at the right time- when the hype has been generated and people want a place where they can go and buy this music. 

Overview of Points Mentioned :

• Allows to discover new forms of music you may never have thought to listen to.
• Breaks barriers of steretypes
• All music videos from all genres are on the same platform in terms of ease of discovery- we can all acess them
• Expresses what an artist is about visually and lets them break free of any stereotypes- let's them be an individual
• Very healthy for country musicians where audiences may not choose their music because of the "generic genre conventions".
• Gives artists a chance for their music to be heard through capturing audiences with visuals
• Allows merging of audiences from fans of different music genres thanks to the publicity
• National distribution of music after a music video release or show
• Less independent labels in country music when compared to Rock.

Music Video: Audience/Actor Research

We were once told that to create a successful video, the two most important things to consider are "who you cast and where you place them" (Emil Nava). 

Actors

Throughout the process we have be  going through in the pre-production stage of our music video, we were envisioning ideas about whom to cast as Amanda Rogers. Evidently when we came to discussing our ideas openly, we all had different visions. Initially most of the group was heading in the direction of either Keeley (second photo down) or Cary (last photo) as we thought they were close to resembling Amanda's features. What we were forgetting was the ability of our actress to portray Amanda- the acting part. Our final decision (which was decided upon after a vote and the consultation of our classmates) was Lorna; since she was taking drama and felt more than comfortable in front of the camera we decided she was most appropriate for portraying our main protagonist and artist Amanda Rogers. This decision also meant that the roles in the production of our music video would be most appropriately distributed. 

Keeley Burridge

Cary Banks

Audience 

It was important for us to chose an appropriate actress not only to represent Amanda but also to fit in with the representation our target audience will expect. I've already mentioned the difficulty we're having in fixating upon a specific genre, particularly taking into account the diversity of audiences for music genres in the on-line age. However, we thought the most probable listeners would not only be fans of indie music, but perhaps more specifically fans of the more mature genres from which Amanda is influenced- Jazz, Blues, Rock. For this reason, older listeners are most probably going to be a part of our market. On the other hand, the lyrics and particularly initial albums evoke a sense of inner teenage turmoil Amanda experienced as she developed into her star image today- "This Beauty" in particular discusses an issue experienced without a doubt by most teenagers. In this respect young listeners perhaps between the ages of 14 to 27 are also a prospective audience. 

Music Video: Props Research

The props are a very important aspect in the construction of the music video. Everything that we present visually in the frame is contributing to our construction of Amanda Rogers's star image, therefore it is vital that the props along side with the costume are chosen appropriately. 

The items below are the main props we'll be either creating, bringing or buying for the shoot. 

1. Red String 

The Red string is absolutely vital we get right since it is the main concept running throughout our music video. We were inspired by the existing album cover of Amanda Rogers when coming up with this idea. The string will serve the purpose of a metaphor of a journey our main protagonist(s) embarks upon in the video- discovering her self-beauty. The red string will eventually lead to a heart constructed of this string inside a tree i.e. "Heartwood". Due to our group filming in a darker, wooded area, my primary concern when buying this string was if it would be bright enough to be seen on the camera. 

Specifications: 

• Must be bright enough to be noticed on camera
• Must be woven- no lose hairs to catch light and result in a "glow" 
• Must be red 
• String must be thick enough to appear on camera
• Must not be more expensive than £7 per roll

Most probably our first choice for red string

2. Woven Heart

The heart is the final destination of the journey our protagonist will embark upon- it is a symbol for natural beauty and will be discovered somewhere in the forest. The woven heart will most probably be constructed of the same string as displayed above for colour matching purposes. We previously decided that the most feasible option for something close to the ideal image below is cutting out a heart of cardboard to then wrap in red string. However, when I was purchasing these items I managed to find a ready made woven heart from straw and covered this in the purchased string instead to save time and money.

3. Photographs Strung on Trees

One of our ideas for this shoot was to present a comparison between the natural beauty our "Amanda" is discovering and embracing and the "unclear" constructed beauty the media presents, discussed in the lyrics. Ideally (once we go location scouting, we will decide as to whether this is a good idea), the photographs would be torn out of magazines and perhaps framed to look like polaroids then strung to some string on the branches of the wooded area where our protagonist would be walking. We also has the idea of several narratives going on simultaneously- all of the characters on the same journey of self-discovery. I think we  were subconsciously inspired by Taylor Swift's music video Mine in which she also strings up photographs. There is also a certain aesthetic appeal in having a set like this which fits in nicely with the lyrics as well as fitting into the "music video" genre. The question is whether or not it will look as aesthetically pleasing on camera.