In using my chosen song, I must check for copyright issues and see whether I am allowed to use the intellectual property of the artist "Classified" or Luke Boyd. I sent a message to the email given on the Half Life Records website, and a copy of the message is shown below:
My name is Andrew Ward-Salt, and I'm doing an A2 Level Media Studies Course at Biddulph High School. The reason for my email is that an integral part of my coursework (to get my qualification) is copyright protection. I am using the song "All About U" in order to create 3 separate products - an album spread, a poster and a music video. As stated under creative commons licensing, no money will be made, and it's for educational purposes (as previously stated), which would also protect my material from being copied as a way around the copyright which you hold to your own intellectual property. Giving me permission to use this song would be brilliant and help me greatly, as well as saving me time searching for another artist and getting permission from them instead.
If you have any problems or questions, email me back and I'd be happy to relieve you of any concerns, my personal e-mail address is Drewbo@hotmail.co.uk. I need you to get back to me as soon as possible so that It's possible for me to fulfil the deadlines I have been sent, but as I said before, feel free to contact me at any time and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Thanks in Advance,
Andrew Ward-Salt
__________________________
Just in case this email isn't replied to soon, I will take lack of response as permission, as I aim to start work on my products next month.
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Final Song Choice
My final choice of song for my Music Video Project (from the Shortlist I created earlier) is "Classified - All About U ft Chad Hatcher". I chose this before the others because it is my favourite song at the moment, as well as the fact it has 1 instrument, 1 vocalist, and a theme that could simply be portrayed very effectively by filming my day to day life.
This song is still going to be a challenge however, due to my lack of money, a guitar, or at this point anybody to star in the film, the Storyboard is also up in the air so to speak, and I do not think that It will be done anytime soon in great detail. I have some ideas, but I shall give more on those later on when I have had some time to think about the setup of my Video.
This song is still going to be a challenge however, due to my lack of money, a guitar, or at this point anybody to star in the film, the Storyboard is also up in the air so to speak, and I do not think that It will be done anytime soon in great detail. I have some ideas, but I shall give more on those later on when I have had some time to think about the setup of my Video.
Song Shortlist
Over the past few weeks, I have watched many music videos and listened to a large amount of music. From this musical analysis, I have created a shortlist of 4 songs. These 4 songs are both my favourites AND the ones which I feel will have a good shot at when creating a musical video.
1. Enter Shikari - No Sleep Tonight.
This song is a relatively recent song by Enter Shikari. It already has a video, which is based around a narrative of the song's lyrics as Rou (the lead vocalist) shadows a businessman. The and invited people to star in the video over Myspace, and on the morning a portion of people showed up, and from there they participated in the song my dancing and singing. I believe that this song would be fun to make a video for in my own Narrative style. I find it to be a soothing song whilst being a meaningful song at the same time. Not many people hear this, but I believe it could be made into a video which has strong political meaning.
2. Classified - All About U. (Feat. Chad Hatcher)
This is a more mellow song by the Rapper Luke boyd, whom goes under the name Classified. It's a predominantly Rap based group that tends to step into different Genres to get a different feel for the songs and variety. This particular song features the Guitarist Chad Hatcher on acoustic guitar playing on the background and singing the more chilled parts of the songs, whilst Luke raps along certain verses of the song. This has a good contrast method of different vocals, with the Rapping having just as much depth as the singing of Chad as he plays the guitar. I like this song because it has a deep meaning, and its a great feel good song. As well as this, it would be simple to do a total band video with Lip Syncinc, due to the use of a single guitarist and a single vocalist, making a 2 man band with an introspective view of a landscape a very easy yet effective possibility for a video. I believe this to be my best chance, and my favourite for the final choice.
3. The Benefits - Last Night (Acoustic).
This song is by a relatively unknown band from Denmark, whom made a hit song called "Physical" which propelled them to relatively well known status in their home country. Some of their songs are of a distinctly indie style, though the song "Last Night" is about a one night stand with a girl, and has soulful overtones, even past its guiaring and relatively 'indie theme' of being about a girl. This is a very meaningful song, and I would like to do a video of it simply for the fact it is a less well known band, and its a good song to chill out to. My other songs are for enjoyability, but I feel that this song would be one of my best choices because it's simple formation and lack of complex wording, instruments and even theme means it could be low budget and still give off a good professional effect.
4. Ghinzu - The Dragster Wave (Taken Cut)
This is a song by the pop/rock band from Belgium called Ghinzu. The song contains a combination of a classic guitar/bass rock composition, and a piano playing vocalist. These heavily contrasting themes make an interesting song, which currently lacks a Music Video. This means I have no ideas or inspirations for the video. However, the ranging tones and tempos from the song could make for a great story driven video which peaks and climaxes as the song comes to crescendo. The song begins with piano playing which builds up to include the use of guitar and vocals which makes the song more varied and interesting. This song is from the credits of the movie "Taken", and begins just before the credits begin, making it a song which gives a sense of finality. I like this song and would like to make a video which contained someone playing the Piano, however if I fail to recruit a Pianist, then my plans for this song may be ruined, making the other songs more viable due to the ready availability of the required band members.
1. Enter Shikari - No Sleep Tonight.
This song is a relatively recent song by Enter Shikari. It already has a video, which is based around a narrative of the song's lyrics as Rou (the lead vocalist) shadows a businessman. The and invited people to star in the video over Myspace, and on the morning a portion of people showed up, and from there they participated in the song my dancing and singing. I believe that this song would be fun to make a video for in my own Narrative style. I find it to be a soothing song whilst being a meaningful song at the same time. Not many people hear this, but I believe it could be made into a video which has strong political meaning.
2. Classified - All About U. (Feat. Chad Hatcher)
This is a more mellow song by the Rapper Luke boyd, whom goes under the name Classified. It's a predominantly Rap based group that tends to step into different Genres to get a different feel for the songs and variety. This particular song features the Guitarist Chad Hatcher on acoustic guitar playing on the background and singing the more chilled parts of the songs, whilst Luke raps along certain verses of the song. This has a good contrast method of different vocals, with the Rapping having just as much depth as the singing of Chad as he plays the guitar. I like this song because it has a deep meaning, and its a great feel good song. As well as this, it would be simple to do a total band video with Lip Syncinc, due to the use of a single guitarist and a single vocalist, making a 2 man band with an introspective view of a landscape a very easy yet effective possibility for a video. I believe this to be my best chance, and my favourite for the final choice.
3. The Benefits - Last Night (Acoustic).
This song is by a relatively unknown band from Denmark, whom made a hit song called "Physical" which propelled them to relatively well known status in their home country. Some of their songs are of a distinctly indie style, though the song "Last Night" is about a one night stand with a girl, and has soulful overtones, even past its guiaring and relatively 'indie theme' of being about a girl. This is a very meaningful song, and I would like to do a video of it simply for the fact it is a less well known band, and its a good song to chill out to. My other songs are for enjoyability, but I feel that this song would be one of my best choices because it's simple formation and lack of complex wording, instruments and even theme means it could be low budget and still give off a good professional effect.
4. Ghinzu - The Dragster Wave (Taken Cut)
This is a song by the pop/rock band from Belgium called Ghinzu. The song contains a combination of a classic guitar/bass rock composition, and a piano playing vocalist. These heavily contrasting themes make an interesting song, which currently lacks a Music Video. This means I have no ideas or inspirations for the video. However, the ranging tones and tempos from the song could make for a great story driven video which peaks and climaxes as the song comes to crescendo. The song begins with piano playing which builds up to include the use of guitar and vocals which makes the song more varied and interesting. This song is from the credits of the movie "Taken", and begins just before the credits begin, making it a song which gives a sense of finality. I like this song and would like to make a video which contained someone playing the Piano, however if I fail to recruit a Pianist, then my plans for this song may be ruined, making the other songs more viable due to the ready availability of the required band members.
Friday, 9 October 2009
Music Video - My Last Serenade
This is the video to My Last Serenade by Killswitch Engage. I like it for various reasons. This video was the last video made before the lead vocalist was replaced by Howard Jones. I also like it because of its contents. Not only is it the last glimpse of Jesse Leach before he left the band, but as a songwriter and the main source of inspiration for the band this meant the video came out the way it did.
The video is based around a woman wearing a white dress, though she first appears as just a black figure, in a pure white room (so its space is inconceivable without being there), which is littered with red furniture. The video mainly switches between the band playing in a totally black room with red columns, and the woman looking in. The idea behind this is that the pure white room has a small spinning box of some sort, which, when the girl looks inside, sees the band playing.
This gives an idea of playing to an audience, and ties in with the idea of where men used to serenade to women on a balcony above, looking down on them. The difference here is that the size difference is made as a metaphor alluding to the importance of the other person, and that they are playing to her. The room they are in is very much like a music box serenading the girl, which ties in with the song name. Instead of trying to go for a video which more literally follows the lyrics, it goes for the typical metal video, with lipsynced performance with some relevance to the song title.
I believe that if I were to apply these principals, my video would not be very conventional, due to the fact I do not plan on choosing a song from the Metal Genre for my final project, this being due to various reasons, ranging from the instruments going into it, to funding to make it look good.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Cover Art Analysis - Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari Analysis
View more presentations from Andrew Ward-Salt.
This presentation talks about the various album and single covers which compose the Enter Shikari CD lineup. I like Enter Shikari, and my shortlist (of 5 songs) will be composed of one or more Enter Shikari songs.
This presentation talks about the various album and single covers which compose the Enter Shikari CD lineup. I like Enter Shikari, and my shortlist (of 5 songs) will be composed of one or more Enter Shikari songs.
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Music Video/Single Cover - The Prodigy
As I have already analyzed a music video based heavily upon story, and one focused on live performance, I wanted to focus on on something different, in this case a very fluid stop motion video.
This is the video to 'The Warriors Dance', It features a mix of puppetry and stop-frame animation, featuring three cigarette packets which are modeled around various logos of the band and its record label (TakeMeToTheHospital/BurningVinyl) which represent the three main members of the band (Liam, Keith and Maxim). The story begins with them coming to life, sneaking into a pub, then starting a miniature rave with other cigarette packages. As the song hits an interlude, one of the cigarette packets pours a flammable liquid in a line, and another cigarette packet lights the line of liquid eventually causing a fire on top of a table. As the line lights up, the fire spreads to the whole of the bar. The three cigarette packets then exit the house, leaving the rest of the dancing cigarette packages to continue burning. A man enters the pub to 'open up' the next morning, puzzled to find all the burnt cardboard remains.
I think this video is very innovative as it shows what can be done using different methods, and there are very few mainstream videos which are composed of stop frame animation. I would like to try this for my final product, however it is probably going to be too time consuming to attempt.
This is the cover for the single of Warriors Dance. It is very imposing and has a dark theme. This ties in very much with the video, which also has a dark and malevolant theme. It shows two makeshift warriors running to battle against eachother. It is an interesting picture as it is composed primarily of 3 colours - Red Black and White, this being a very good example of minimalistic design which ties in with the CD to become an interesting digipak.
This is the video to 'The Warriors Dance', It features a mix of puppetry and stop-frame animation, featuring three cigarette packets which are modeled around various logos of the band and its record label (TakeMeToTheHospital/BurningVinyl) which represent the three main members of the band (Liam, Keith and Maxim). The story begins with them coming to life, sneaking into a pub, then starting a miniature rave with other cigarette packages. As the song hits an interlude, one of the cigarette packets pours a flammable liquid in a line, and another cigarette packet lights the line of liquid eventually causing a fire on top of a table. As the line lights up, the fire spreads to the whole of the bar. The three cigarette packets then exit the house, leaving the rest of the dancing cigarette packages to continue burning. A man enters the pub to 'open up' the next morning, puzzled to find all the burnt cardboard remains.
I think this video is very innovative as it shows what can be done using different methods, and there are very few mainstream videos which are composed of stop frame animation. I would like to try this for my final product, however it is probably going to be too time consuming to attempt.
This is the cover for the single of Warriors Dance. It is very imposing and has a dark theme. This ties in very much with the video, which also has a dark and malevolant theme. It shows two makeshift warriors running to battle against eachother. It is an interesting picture as it is composed primarily of 3 colours - Red Black and White, this being a very good example of minimalistic design which ties in with the CD to become an interesting digipak.
Friday, 2 October 2009
Music Video/Album Cover/Promo Poster/Lyrics Analysis - Enter Shikari
For this piece of research into Music Videos I chose a more band orientated video, whilst also moving towards a Genre which I would like to explore for my final music video.
The video is by Enter Shikari, a "Transcore" band from the UK. Their style is unique, and for the first album, the songs were widely given a video of the band in slow motion shots, cloaked in darkness, with lasers and effects supplimenting the show and making it nicer to look at. The exception of this is the video to Sorry 'You're Not A Winner', shown below, which is based more upon an actual performance in a small room.
The video begins with a short introduction showing the band in a very small room, with a bunch of fans preparing for the song. As the song builds up, the fans begin to limber up, preparing to move to the song. This (if you dont know the song well) shows that it is a faster song which is more suitable to dance or move to than to just sit around and listen to. As the video progresses, the lights begin to turn on and off slowly and this shows the glowsticks and various glow-items activity, with rays of green and red. One of the reasons the song took on a more live video perspective is that the songs from Enter Shikari's earlier album (Take to the Skies) have less of a proper story, opting for a loosely defined tale.
I like this video as it is a good show of what a live video (without being on a stage from a concert) can be made into. I like the idea of this as well, they put an advertisement up on their myspace and got some friends over to feature in the video, thus simplifying the process and making it very cost effective. This kind of video is easily possible for my project, and so I will draw upon it for inspiration
Here is the lyrics to Sorry Your Not a Winner, along with some analysis of what I think they mean. The analysis is below each line, denoted by a hyphen when the analysis begins and ends.
Scratch card glory, waist low pleasure?
- I believe this line speaks of a life of pleasure and wastefulness, devoting money and time to hopeless causes and wasting your life. I also believe it could refer to himself being proud of himself for something meaningless -
Black eyes nose bleeds, don't look back now
- This infers that the life previously described will push you towards a dangerous path, one in which you can be beaten up and hurt dramatically -
My white abode, do you remember?
My white abode,
- The lines "my white abode" and "do you remember" infer that the singer/songwriter once devoted himself to this kind of life, however, White Abode is a racist saying in the K.K.K meaning a home without any other colours or creeds. This may infer that the life he took was not only empty and impractical, but lonely, cold and also hateful.
But it's such a thrill just to find out...
- The life that is described is a thrill to explore nonetheless. -
[Chorus]
Sorry you're not a winner
With the air so cold and a mind so bitter
- This line infers that in participating in this kind of life and racist activities, you only lose out, and never win, becoming a bitter and cold person. -
What have you got to lose
But false intentions and a life so pretentious?
- This could speak of two things, giving up the life of a loser and changing your ways, or going even deeper, saying that you cant lose anything more once youve lost everything -
Scratch card glory, waist low pleasure?
Black eyes nose bleeds, don't look back now
My white abode do you remember?
My white abode
But it's such a thrill just to find out...
- Reinforcing the chorus with the image that the life described is not all its cracked up to be. -
[Chorus]
Scratch card glory, waist low pleasure?
Black eyes nose bleeds don't look back now
My white abode do you remember?
I sweat I ache...
- The life he chose is very tiresome and is leading him on a downward spiral. -
[Chorus]
What? What? What?
Rawwwr
Insert your coin
Please try again
Insert your coin
Please try again...
- I believe these lines speak of being able to try again, without making the same mistakes, though it unfortunately could mean that you can do it all over again if you want. -
This is the album cover for Take to the Skies by Enter Shikari. It is very abstract, featuring trademark art from Enter Shikari, which contains greens greys and reds blending together. The album cover is very unique, tieing in with the unique style and sound of the band. The album cover features a picture of various strange cartoon characters holding up a shield with a picture of the earth on it, the earth has an unhappy expression. This is very meaningful, and has a somewhat protestful view of the environmental damage to the world, as some songs from the album features lines such as "a screaming from the earth, and I can't help but..." and "So this is a quest to save the world".
This is a promo poster for the album Take to the Skies. It is very similar to the album in the fact that it has the same picture and theme centrally. The main difference is the addition of the words "Enter Shikari - Take to the Skies" at the bottom of the page, grouping the details into an additional section for reference. IT also includes a label saying "Parental Guidance" on it, due to the fact the album does contain strong language in parts.
The video is by Enter Shikari, a "Transcore" band from the UK. Their style is unique, and for the first album, the songs were widely given a video of the band in slow motion shots, cloaked in darkness, with lasers and effects supplimenting the show and making it nicer to look at. The exception of this is the video to Sorry 'You're Not A Winner', shown below, which is based more upon an actual performance in a small room.
The video begins with a short introduction showing the band in a very small room, with a bunch of fans preparing for the song. As the song builds up, the fans begin to limber up, preparing to move to the song. This (if you dont know the song well) shows that it is a faster song which is more suitable to dance or move to than to just sit around and listen to. As the video progresses, the lights begin to turn on and off slowly and this shows the glowsticks and various glow-items activity, with rays of green and red. One of the reasons the song took on a more live video perspective is that the songs from Enter Shikari's earlier album (Take to the Skies) have less of a proper story, opting for a loosely defined tale.
I like this video as it is a good show of what a live video (without being on a stage from a concert) can be made into. I like the idea of this as well, they put an advertisement up on their myspace and got some friends over to feature in the video, thus simplifying the process and making it very cost effective. This kind of video is easily possible for my project, and so I will draw upon it for inspiration
Here is the lyrics to Sorry Your Not a Winner, along with some analysis of what I think they mean. The analysis is below each line, denoted by a hyphen when the analysis begins and ends.
Scratch card glory, waist low pleasure?
- I believe this line speaks of a life of pleasure and wastefulness, devoting money and time to hopeless causes and wasting your life. I also believe it could refer to himself being proud of himself for something meaningless -
Black eyes nose bleeds, don't look back now
- This infers that the life previously described will push you towards a dangerous path, one in which you can be beaten up and hurt dramatically -
My white abode, do you remember?
My white abode,
- The lines "my white abode" and "do you remember" infer that the singer/songwriter once devoted himself to this kind of life, however, White Abode is a racist saying in the K.K.K meaning a home without any other colours or creeds. This may infer that the life he took was not only empty and impractical, but lonely, cold and also hateful.
But it's such a thrill just to find out...
- The life that is described is a thrill to explore nonetheless. -
[Chorus]
Sorry you're not a winner
With the air so cold and a mind so bitter
- This line infers that in participating in this kind of life and racist activities, you only lose out, and never win, becoming a bitter and cold person. -
What have you got to lose
But false intentions and a life so pretentious?
- This could speak of two things, giving up the life of a loser and changing your ways, or going even deeper, saying that you cant lose anything more once youve lost everything -
Scratch card glory, waist low pleasure?
Black eyes nose bleeds, don't look back now
My white abode do you remember?
My white abode
But it's such a thrill just to find out...
- Reinforcing the chorus with the image that the life described is not all its cracked up to be. -
[Chorus]
Scratch card glory, waist low pleasure?
Black eyes nose bleeds don't look back now
My white abode do you remember?
I sweat I ache...
- The life he chose is very tiresome and is leading him on a downward spiral. -
[Chorus]
What? What? What?
Rawwwr
Insert your coin
Please try again
Insert your coin
Please try again...
- I believe these lines speak of being able to try again, without making the same mistakes, though it unfortunately could mean that you can do it all over again if you want. -
This is the album cover for Take to the Skies by Enter Shikari. It is very abstract, featuring trademark art from Enter Shikari, which contains greens greys and reds blending together. The album cover is very unique, tieing in with the unique style and sound of the band. The album cover features a picture of various strange cartoon characters holding up a shield with a picture of the earth on it, the earth has an unhappy expression. This is very meaningful, and has a somewhat protestful view of the environmental damage to the world, as some songs from the album features lines such as "a screaming from the earth, and I can't help but..." and "So this is a quest to save the world".
This is a promo poster for the album Take to the Skies. It is very similar to the album in the fact that it has the same picture and theme centrally. The main difference is the addition of the words "Enter Shikari - Take to the Skies" at the bottom of the page, grouping the details into an additional section for reference. IT also includes a label saying "Parental Guidance" on it, due to the fact the album does contain strong language in parts.
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