This is my A2 media coursework blog. I will be creating a music video for the song 'Confessions' by 'We Are The Ocean'. The project also involves creating a digipak album and a magazine advert for the digipak.

I am working in a group with:

Saturday 30 October 2010

The Pixies - Caribou


My ideas for a music video for this song...
  • Performance / concept.
  • I woud have the lead singer walking through and around fields, going across streams and bridges etc.
  • At first it would just be the lead singer but during the chorus other band members would join him with guitars in hand and also a snare drum and cymbal. 
  • A caribou or two would also feature in the video to give it some anchorage. 
  • I would probably set it on Ilkley Moor and also include some p.o.v. and close up shots.

Monday 18 October 2010

Gary Newman - Cars



My ideas for my own version of this video..

  • The man idea and concept for my video would be someone sat in a car nodding their head, pretending to be a gangster. However they clearly aren't and are just mocking them. 
  • I would also incorporate a short-film aspect into it at the beginning. This would show them starting/ turning off the car engine and pressing play on the CD player to start off the song.
  • To add to the mise-en-scene I thought about using some fluffy dice, teddy bears on the back-seat, and air fresheners in the car itself. These would also add some depth to the comedy aspect as-well. 

Sunday 17 October 2010

Yeo Valley Advert




  • Set in location on a rural farm.
  • Mise-en-scene includes cows, tractors, and hay etc..
  • The outline of the advert is a group of farmers (including 1 girl) thinking they are 'cool' pretending to be 'gangsters' but they on a farm.
  • They are promoting milk as their product so during the clip some of them drink it, this helps to portray milk as being cool and they are trying to signify that if they can even remain cool whilst drinking 'Yeo Valley' milk.
  • By being farmers and gangsters it's a counter-type or a juxtaposition of farmers. To create their 'gangster' image they keep their clothes and the mise-en - scene the same but have just changed their moves and mannerisms.

Saturday 16 October 2010

IKEA Kitchen Party Advert




  • It's a music video that's been used as an advert to sell kitchens from IKEA.
  • It lasts for exactly a minute which is double the amount that a normal advert lasts for and it has also been screened during the adverts of the X-Factor on a saturday night, which (at the moment) is the most expensive advert slot on British TV. This signifies that the company are willing to spend lots of money so people get to know and recognise the product/ company that they are promoting.
  • If the advert is twice as long as average then it will cost at least 2 times as much to produce and screen it.
  • This is mostly aimed at the 'youth market' (15-24) trying to prove that IKEA is relevant, cool and good to have. 
  • However this also aimed at an older audience because they will recognise the song which is (probably) from the 80's.
  • The advert also creates a little bit of narrative enigma for the audience to keep them guessing as to what the advert is trying to get across, then at the end of it the IKEA logo appears and gives anchorage to the audience. It also makes the audience want to keep on watching it till the end to find out what the advert is all about.

Monday 11 October 2010

Professor Green feat Lily Allen - Just Be Good To Green

Embed code disabled - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U00bBjeZI3E 


  • It's a performance/ concept music video.
  • Lily starts off he music video by standing on a big platform wearing a big black and white coat with a simple black and white background. She is slowly spinning round. Professor Green then appears walking around in the background.
  • Professor Green is then showed sat in a leather arm chair with lots of girls surrounding him. This will appeal to the male audience because the girls are very skimpily dressed and not wearing much. This is for the male gaze and some would say that the girls are only featured on the screen for men to look at because they look good.
  • There are quite a few interesting shots taken of the girls' legs and there is also an interesting shot of Professor Green but the camera is looking at him through a girls legs which is quite effective.
  • At certain moments Professor Green looks straight into the camera through the lens at the audience, this helps him to make a connection with the audience and keep their attention. 
  • Some special effects are used  and have been edited during the editing process.
  • Fast paced editing and cutting to the beat is also used quite often.
  • Some lyrics especially during the chorus are written on some of the girls' backs, this is in the same style/ font that his tattoo on his neck is like. I think this is really effective and creative and i read it that he is signifying that the girls are 'his' and it's almost his stamp on them.
  • Simple colours are used (black, blue and white) but they are still effective.
  • There aren't many close ups of Professor Green or Lily Allen which is a little bit unusual for a video of it's genre, however this might be because there is a big focus on the girls and they are almost in every shot.
Me doing a vodcast on the music video...


Sunday 10 October 2010

The Doors - People Are Strange


  • We were played this piece of music [The Doors - People Are Strange] and had to come up with an idea of how we would make this song into a music video e.g. what ideas we had, shots we would use etc..
  • I had the idea of opening with an establishing shot of an empty road that had some houses on it, this would be a canted/ dutch angle shot to signify that something isn't quite right and it would also have a blue filter on the lens to have some horror connotations.
  • The next shot would include the lead singer walking down it but the shot is just the back of him and we don't see his face to create some narrative enigma. 
  • As the song moves on the lead singer is slowly joined by other people that just generally look really odd and un-natural. Some of them are limping and shaking and just starring at the lead singer. While this is happening i would use a tracking shot and also quite a few close up shot's of the lead singer and the 'freaks' that are surrounding him. 
  • Eventually the other band members join him in walking along the road,  they have guitars and drumstick in their hands and are playing along with the music. 

  • I would also use fast paced editing to keep the video interesting and if it has sort takes then it will be more 'strange' and add to the whole theme of the song.
  • It would be mostly narrative with a little bit of performance when the band come to join the others walking down the street. 

Wednesday 6 October 2010

XX - Crystalised

  • Formed in 2005.
  • Crystalised is taken from their self-titled debut album that they released in August 2009. It got to #3 in the U.K. Album Charts.
  • It’s a concept video.
  • It starts off black then a bright orange light appears. 
  • Next the band are shown stood in-front of a wall with their instruments.
  • The wall has different images projected onto it such as clouds, the sea, sunsets, lights buildings etc..
  • All of the band are wearing black, probably so they are all the same and the images from the projection are clear.
  • There is lots of close ups of their instruments when they are playing them, quite a few interesting shots and dutch angles are used during this.
  • Apart from the projector not much lighting is used.
  • Personally I think that this video is quite achievable to achieve if I was to recreate the video. All I would require is the band, the instruments, a wall, a projector and some images for it to project. 
  • I really like this video because its very simple but at the same time it’s also very effective.

Bombay Bicycle Club - Always Like This


  • They formed in 2005.
  • They have released 2 studio albums so far.
  • The single was released in April 2009.
  • It’s both a performance and concept video.
  • It starts with blue lines flashing across the screen then the screen has a display that you would typically see on a VCR player that’s fast forwarding.
  • It then cuts to a roundabout in a child's playground being spun round but the footage of it is being fast-forward.
  • The video then goes on to show the band members playing their instruments in different locations such as in a playground, outside a house, near some garages and outside a shop etc..
  • Throughout the video it cuts between the actual footage being shown on a tv screen through a VCR player and just normally. This is a very simple but very effective effect.
  • A little aspect of comedy is included to make it ‘fun’ and creative when they play in the park on the swings etc..
  • A blurred / fuzzy effect is also sometimes used on the camera lens.

Sunday 3 October 2010

Power Metal

  • Originated in the mid 1980's in Germany
  • Combination of traditional and speed metal.
  • Lyrics often involve mythodology and fantasy
  • Some Glam Metal influences with the big hair and bright colours, some are more goth in appearance. 
  • Gamma Ray - Into The Storm - mainly performance with a little bit of narrative. 
  • Nightwish - Amarath - Mostly concept with a little bit of performance. Counter-typical having a female lead singer, most heavy metal bands don't have any female's in them. 
  • Helloween - I want out - Performance with a little bit of narrative. All of the performance is focussed on the lead singer, set in an abandoned warehouse and also in a dessert, some comedy is also used.

Viking Metal

  • Originated in Norway, Sweden and Scandinavia.
  • Galloping pace, keyboard rich and lots of bleakness.
  • Lots of shots of viking life and rural locations included.
  • Amon Arath - Twilight Of Thunder God - Viking mise -en -scene except the band members jeans and shirts. Lots of head - banging. Fire and wind is used to show the climate that they are in.
  • Amon Arath - The Pursuit Of Vikings - performance based video lots of out of focus shots, slighted green tinted frame used, possibly to signify where they are from and their background. 

Hardcore Metal


  • Started in the 1970's in the U.S.A.
  • It's a very small genre but the bands still earn lots.
  • The songs and themes are often very controversial.
  • The music tends to be more rhythmic than melodic.
  • TRC - mainly performance and narrative videos. Diagteic sounds are used and there is lots of focus on the front man. Strobe and flashing lights, fast paced editing and aggressive facial expressions are included and close up camera shots are used to show this.
  • Gallows - performance videos, small venues used because they are an underground band. People in the crowd show the target audience that they are aiming for. The front man is topless showing off his tattoos. The footage included was filmed over one gig and might not necessarily of been from the song that the video is for.  Shaky camera movement shows the high energy involved , this is also backed up by the fast paced editing, this matches the pace and aggression of the song. Lots of stage prescience is also held by the band members.

  • Your Demise - Burnt Tongue - Performance and narrative music video (typical to the genre). Small crowd at their gig which reflects the size of the genre. A steadi-cam is also used with the lead singer to get some good close ups of him.