Music Video Production - The Crookes (8)

Chorus of Fools Lyrics, complete with annotation to guide our music video idea. We particularly like the reference to light and dark, and the idea of coldness... These ideas we will play with in our music video production- We love how these aspects fit in with the fact that this song is about a break up of a relationship.We can play with the idea of fate that is mentioned throughout the song and the poetic imagery of which is built up throughout. The lyrics are a great basis for us to play with and evolve our initial ideas when hearing the song.

In Music Videos.

Branding is especially important in music videos; it is all involving promotion of the band/artist and focusing on pushing forward their own visual representation. Music videos not only show off the bands own style, it also can present the band and give them recognition relating to success and status. Knowing that branding holds such importance i knew that i had to brand and promote my band in the correct way to represent them in the correct way.
In a narrative music video, this can be used in order to market the band, usually these videos are more suggestive, rather than realistic, making it easier for the audience to watch the video over and over. The visuals hold the story and need to flow fluently to work well. This is important as a way to draw in the audience, as realism can sometimes be repitive and boring and not interest the target audience; this is a way to draw in their attention. Repeatability is also very important in music videos, in order to market the band, this is needed to stick ideas in their mind; this can relate to representation of the band and how they are perceived by the public. It is a way of the band cummincating with their audience; the idea of repeatability is usually common in the chorus, with a range of shots that are shown numerous times, making it stick in the audiences mind.
Videos can be used to increase sales, reach out the the correct target audience and even promote other brands or businesses. Music videos are very powerful in terms of branding, whether it is the artist or other contributors; it can be a very clever aspect of the music industry to develop the persona of the artists. Branding goes way beyond just the music video, it is followed through with merchandising, visuals and artwork, how they are percieved in the media, photography, press releases, logos and performance style.
In our music video for The Crookes, we are going to focus on creating a distinct look for the band as a part of the branding and representation of the band. We want to percieve the band in the correct way to represent them how they want and show be represented to the public. The Crookes are an indie/folk band and we will brand and promote them in the correct way to achieve this genre. However, as we are branding towards niche subcultures it is extremely important that we get our marketing and representation correct, this holds great importance and we know that this could determine the success of a band or artist.
We will use visual elements to relate to the band and the genre of music, and focus on styling and appearance to create a unique look- this is all a huge part of branding, as well as artwork and making sure we focus on the ideas behind, sub-cultures and niche markets. This can also be achieved in the other promotional stratedgies i.e. the Digipak and Magazine Advertisement. It will be important that in our music video we take ideas from within the bands style, as to draw in the correct target audience and to represent them in the correct way. As they have such a distinct style, we will need to show their branding as independent, quirky and creative, appealing to their sub-culture.

The use of the variety of texts together creates a good way to market The Crookes .With the Digipak, Advert and the Video together, it is key to understand the importance of the three texts working together as a marketing tool for the band. It is done to present thier brand and identity as a band, it works as a way of recognising the band, a way of being represented correctly to their target audience.

Music videos are generally made up of a key set of conventions; things that you are most likely to see in music videos, or stereotypically. Generally codes and conventions change according to the genre of the band/artist, however common aspects usually appear.

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.- There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.- Genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography- Record companies will demand a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist- Voyeurism is present in many music videos, especially in the treatment of females, but also in terms of systems of looking. Some examples are screens within screens, cameras, mirrors, etc.- there are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV texts, these provide further gratification and pleasure for the viewers/fans.

I like Andrew Goodwings theory as i love the connection between the visuals and lyrics.
Our track 'Chorus Of Fools' is about a relationship that is dying out and being reformed again; due to this we obviously wanted to portray this as our main theme and by doing this we wanted to use our photographs and animation to tell the story. Todorov is a Bulgarian structuralist, mainly concerned with linguistic who began to produce influential work on narrative from the 1960s onwards. I believe that his theory relates greatly to my video, Chorus of Fools by The Crookes. His theory consists of three parts Equilibrium, Dis-Equilibrium and New-Equilibrium. The Equilibrium is the normal state of the beginning of the text. My video has a clear beginning; the couple are introduced, their love for each other is made very clear by animations such as love hearts and doves. However, as we reach the middle of the song we see the ‘Dis-Equilibrium’ this is when we see a break up in the happy couples relationship. We made this clear by having animation of pictures torn up, rain and clouds (pathetic phallacy) and sad faces. There is then a clear ending ‘New-Equilibrium’ this is when the couple resolve their conflict and their love for each other is rekindled. This is again clearly reinforced by the animations that we used. I believe for these reasons Todorov narrative theory relates greatly to my video.

Music videos have the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the lead artists face. Visual references in music videos come from a range of sources, although the 3 most frequent are cinema, fashion and art photography. The music video is “incorporating, raiding and reconstructing”, essentially the essence of intertextuality, taking what the audience may find familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings. The music video allows more access to the performer than a stage performance can. In particular the mise-en-scene, can be used to emphasise and create an aspirational lifestyle.

Illustrated music videos usually include performance or narration and generally illustrate lyrics and visualise the music. This type of music video is quite simple and is also known as ‘denotation’ of the song, it communicates the idea behind the song and the visuals and lyrics are usually closely related. In our video although we used animation we have a clear narrative which is shown by visuals and imagery. Alot of our animation/ visuals illustraste the lyrics and enhance the mood and feeling of the track.
Amplification- the conventions of this type of music video combine both music performance and narrative, they tend to amplify the idea behind the music and lyrics and go toward a creative interpretation, not always so simplistic. This type of video generally include unique ideas, often with a sense of surrealism or make-believe, however always have a direct to the song, also known as connotative, usually linking to the song, title or artist.
Disjuncture- this video type usually concludes of rather abstract ideas, with no true link to the music, title, lyrics or artist. In general these videos are very disjointed from the nature of the song and can have quite a strong effect, if done in an effective manner. I believe that this type of video would not work for our band The Crookes. Although this type can have a very strong effect i believe it does not relate well to our band. Our video shows a clear relationship between the band, the visuals and the lyrics. We choose to relate all of these things as we see the band as a more loveable and freindly one oppossed to them being disjointed and apart.

The audience is active rather than passive. The audience uses the media for thier own gratification, rather than being used by the media, the audience has the power to make their own decisions about a music video and why. The video offers escapism, but also reality allowing the target audience to identify with the video.

This does fit into our music video, the video offers escapism, but also touches ground with reality allowing the target audience to identify with the video. The audience can easily relate to our video. It covers the conventional family traditions (marriage/children/house/job etc.)

One of the locations is as pictured above,the Wroxham broads... We really like the nautical feel here and the scenery surrounding the broads is very picturesque.
This idea would represent the things that you do in a relationship; the togetherness and romanticism and the fun parts of being together... We could present footage in this way including the surrounding area, but contradict this with other footage in order to link with the story line in this song.

We have looked into our location in great detail and have decided that it is probably not suitable. Originally we thought Brittania Pier was unspoilt and unmodernised. We have looked into this and it has been modernised alot, therefore not suiting the bands image or the ideas we had for the video.
We have looked at many alternative locations including:
- Elm Hill, Norwich and
- Wroxham Broads (pictures above)
The main problem we are facing in filming outside is obviously the weather. Ideally our video would be set outdoors as we think this would work well and really tell the story, but if the lighting isn't right, it could spoil it. The only other option is to film it in the studio. The main idea for a studio video would have to be as if the band are performing, but we could possibly add some extra footage in with the band at different locations.

These Ideas of locations are inspired by the sound of the band... We want the location to mirror the musicality and creative aspect of the band so that you can see the link and so that the style is shown clearly. This idea would enhance the genre of the band but also help to communicate further the time periods that inspire the band in itself.

We have explored into location a lot, originally looking into shooting at Britannia pier, as we wanted to use unspoilt and old fashioned locations, however it was not suitable, as the area is very commercialised and we do not want this feel in our video- we really want to create of which is almost a fictional world in today's society.
Other locations that we have looked into include Elm Hill (we really love how it has maintained the olden days feel), Wroxham Broads, The Close and areas surrounding Norwich Cathedral (again for the unspoilt location).
Some main problems that we need to take into consideration include the weather and complications that could arise on shoot, so at the moment we are looking into other ways that we could incorporate these locations in order to build up this strong vintage/nostalgic feel, whilst maintaining a professional finish. We really want to include the outdoors in this video as the song is very upbeat and I feel that the songs by the crookes in particular communicates a sense of Britishness and we would like to present british scenery as it goes into the roots of the band also, however if the lighting is not correct it could ruin the whole look for the video so we need to find a way to work around this.