Filming schedule

In lesson we came up with our filming schedule and outlined everything that will be needed for filming to be completed by the 19th of December. Our filmind schedule is as follows:

1. Wednesday 12th December, the drum narrative will be filmed
2. Thursday 13th December, all performance elements will be filmed
3. Friday 14th December , the guitar narrative will be filmed
4. Sunday 16th, the bass narrative will be filmed

Our filming days have all been broken up, which is not ideal, because members of the group have commitments that they need to take care of. It does however mean that more time can be spent on filming one section in particular as the time limit for filming doesn't have to be as long because the cast and film crew have spare time. We tried to make filming as easy as possible for each cast member involved, by working around there schedule. 

We also finalised our location ideas which are as follows:

1. The schools drama department green room - Drum narrative
2. Valentines Mansion House - Bass narrative (Pending)
3. A plain room with a giant chess board - Guitar narrative
4. Drama room three - Final performance 
5. The schools lift as it is the easiest to access

On top of sorting out the filming times and locations we also finalised the costumes and props that we will be needing for filming to run smoothly. The costume list is as follows:

1. Casual jeans and shirt for the singer before finding the drummer and for the final performance
2. Assortment of props for the drummer and the singer whilst in the green room
3. Suit or smart wear for the bassist, drummer and singer whilst at the mansion
4. A mixture of all black, all white or black and white clothes for all the band members whilst around the chess board.
5. All members will retain their original costume that relate to their respective scenes when they are at the final performance.

Prop List:

1. Mop
2. Chess board
3. Assortment of drama props that clash with each other
4. Drum Kit + Drum sticks
5. Bass Guitar
6. Electric guitar x 2
7. Microphone
8. Bass amp
9. Guitar amp x 2

Arranging to film at Valentines mansion

Before we are able to film at Valentines mansion we have to fill out a couple of forms that outline where, when and what we want to film when we are at the mansion. Below is a screenshot of one of the questions:

Other details that needed to be given out were contact details such as a phone number and an email address. 

Peer Assessment

Today we started a two column storyboard for the first 15 seconds of footage for our music video. We had it peer assessed by another group who gave us feedback on how we could improve the overall effect of our storyboard. They said that we had possibly gone into too much detail as it was 3/4 of the page but only 15 seconds of footage. They also said that we should try and include some shot types for the performance aspects of the video as it will structure the filming process better. It was also suggested that we try and use language that could be understood by everyone, as we had musical terminology in there that some people may not understand.

Initial Logo sketches

 Today I thought of two initial ideas for my logo that will be included in the digi pack. The first of my ideas is based around a sign post which corresponds to the name of the band that we picked, "The Lost Boys." I decided that a sign post not only fits the name of the band but also the philosophy that the band holds which is that they don't know what they are going to achieve in terms of their musical careers or how they are going to get there. When I create a version with software such as Gimp I will try to use bright saturated colours as these fit the ethos of the band.                              

My second design idea is having the bands initials on a vinyl record which is being played on an old gramophone or vinyl player, this idea is fairly simple and I chose it because it fits the image  we are trying to market the band as. I don't think this idea for a logo is as good as the sign post one, which was my initial idea, but I think that it is good to experiment with several different ideas as the first idea is not always necessarily the best.

Narrative Breakdown

We decided that from the information gathered from the focus group and questionnaire that our music video should be half performance and half narrative. We decided that the performance should be spontaneous and not planned out in any way as this is what we did when we filmed the year ten band last month. However whilst the performance aspect can be spontaneous the narrative needs to be planned out thoroughly so when we come to film it everyone knows what they are doing. Originally we had a few ideas with what we could do with the narrative and many of them included members of the band travelling, for example one of our first ideas that we mused upon was the idea of colour manipulation where the whole world was black and white and each member of the band was assigned a colour and every time they walked past something it restored colour to that area. This idea incorporated travelling as each band member would have been at a different place and then travelled to one final destination where a performance would take place and the destination would have its full colour restored, possibly even saturated. Another idea that we though about was the use of satire in the music industry and how it can be applied to the Indie music scene, we thought that the band could be stereotypically Indie whilst the singer would be presented as a mainstream Pop artist. You would be able to tell that the singer is a Pop artist because we would use stereotypical conventions that you expect to see from Pop music videos such as the common beauty shot. We eventually decided not to use this idea because we took preference to our final idea and we thought that more could be done with it.

Our final narrative that we are going to film involves the notion of travelling and links with many aspects of the performance. The basis of our idea is to have the lead singer travel in a lift, as this links with the songs title "Space Elevator," and then get off at different locations where different members of the band will be. Each member of the band will have a theme and it will be shown through the use of misé-en-scene, each band members theme will be incorporated into the final performance where each member will retain their original costume. As the lead singer picks up different band members their costumes will change to suit the environment that they will end up in. We initially came up with three locations, the first one being a prop room where the drummer resides and is wearing a variety of different props with many more scattered about on the floor, the drummer will also have a short comical romance with a mop which is also decorated in an assortment of props. When the singer stumbles into the room his costume will also change to match the assortment of props that the drummer is wearing. The hectic misé-en-scene relates to the musical stereotype of drummers being  insane, portrayed by many characters most notably the puppet "Animal" from the Muppets. The second location that we decided upon was somewhere sophisticated and classical such as a mansion, this location is where the bass player will be situated and we decided that he should be wearing a suit or something smart to fit in with the surrounding area. When the drummer and singer arrive out of the elevator they too will also be in suits or smart clothing to create synergy between all the band members. The sophisticated nature of the bassist' area completely contrasts  that of the drummers and they are at complete opposite ends of the class spectrum which means we would be appealing to a wider audience. The final location is the most interesting as we decided it should be themed around a chess board, this location is where the rest of the band meet up with the guitarist. We came up with the concept that the guitarist will be on a giant chess board playing a game of chess by himself or with another band member when they arrive. Once all the members of the band are collected they will then make their way to the performance location.

We plan on having a dynamic video that includes both performance and narrative in a non linear fashion to keep the audience engaged at all times whilst watching the video. We came up with the idea that we should reveal each member in the performance when they are revealed in the the narrative, however this contrasts our ideology of the band being represented as a unit rather than individuals as some members will get more screen time than others.

Data gathered from our questionnaires and focus group

We received eighteen completed questionnaires back and we decided that we would write out our basic findings before trying to put our results together to find out more useful information. However before writing out the results we decided we would get rid of the questionnaires that listed the person answering it as either thinking Indie music is bad, they hate it or they don't listened to it, we did this by simply looking at the first likert scale on the questionnaire. Out of the eighteen questionnaires we got back we only put aside two, leaving us with sixteen sets of results left.

Upon writing out the number of people from each gender who had answered our questionnaire we discovered that we had asked more females than males by quite a considerable amount, 11 of the 16 results we got were by females which in a percentage is 69%, this  meant that we had only asked 5 males to complete our questionnaire which is 31%.

Once we had recorded all the results from the data that we had collected we decided that it would be beneficial to put some of the quantitativeol data together in order to come to a conclusion of a more detailed analysis about the Indie genre and how audiences respond to it. Our first idea was to see the differences in popularity of the artists in the likert scale between the two genders and to see if certain artists were more popular amongst a certain genre. I created a graph, shown below, which shows the overall popularity of the artists when the two genders results are added together and also when the genders results separate.

We discovered that the artist with the overall highest average was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, however there is a reason why the results given were not completely accurate. Only 3 people out of the 16 we used knew who the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were and gave them a rating which consequently gave us false results. The next most popular artist overall was The Arctic Monkeys who scored an average of 2.4, and the lower the number the higher the score. They also proved to be the most popular amongst the females that replied to our questionnaire. However the same could not be said for the males who completed the questionnaire, as the most popular band amongst them was Arcade Fire who scored an average score of 2. From the data gathered we can deduce that, stylistically at least, our band should have similar aspects to Arcade fire and the Arctic Monkeys. One big feature that both of these bands hold is that they have an innocent sex appeal that is more passive opposed to the outlandish approach that many Hip-Hop videos have.

We only had two different age ranges complete our questionnaire, the most popular being 15-19 which was 94% of our responses, the other 6% of our responses came from the age range of 25-29. Being as many of the replies were from the 15-19 age range and many of them knew who the Indie bands were we can presume that the genre is popular among young audiences. This assumption means that we should base our music video more towards youthful audiences.

Lyric analysis

Sun spinning inside my mind, Inside my soul
Sun spinning inside my soul, Inside my bones
Sun spinning inside my soul, Inside my head
Sun spinning inside my head, Inside my mind

Well space elevator won’t you take me so far

Sun navigator won’t you take me to the stars

Take me so far, Well take me so far

So navigator won’t you take me to Mars

Can’t hear what you say, You’re so far away

Say you’ll see me later, Wanna ride my elevator

If it’s possible, I feel insufferable

I feel the talk of the towns and never come back down

Sun spinning inside my mind, Inside my soul

Sun spinning inside my soul, Inside my head

Sun spinning inside my head, Inside my bones

Sun spinning inside my bones, Inside my mind

Science is trying just to figure out the facts

And I’ll be lying if you’re crying, Coz nothing’s making sense

Space is calling out to be a friend

All the stars are falling, But this is not the end

Space elevator won’t you take me to Mars

Sun navigator won’t you take me so far

Well take me so far, Well take me so far

So navigator won’t you take me to Mars

Are we lost in space (Are we lost in space)

Are we lost in space (Are we lost in space)

Are we lost in space (Are we lost in space)

Are we lost in space (Are we lost in space)

Are we lost in space, Are we lost in space

I've highlighted all the words that are repeated multiple times throughout the song and have a strong meaning when they are interpreted individually and not just in the context of the song. Due to the powerful nature of these words we should try and see if they can be incorporated into the music video in some way. I have also created something called a Wordle which is a visual aid and shows words that aren't that common in the English Language: 

iWeb website mock up

This is the way I want my website to be structured when it is created, currently I'm undecided on a house style so I'll have to experiment with different colours on this layout. Something else I'm undecided on is the negative space between the "Latest News" and "Social Network Feed," when the house style is applied I will  have more of an idea if the negative space works if it doesn't I will probably just extend the bottom half of the "Latest News" box outwards so it is closer to the "Social Network Feed" thus eradicating the negative space. Another slight critique that I have with my design is the exact positioning of the logo, I know I want it placed in the top left of the webpage but I'm not sure if I want it aligned with the title or navigation bar Once eveything is put in place it will be easier to make the decision as I can judge what looks best.

Iweb Software Practice

Today I used iWeb for the first time and played around with some of the features that it has to offer, in doing so it has showed me the limitations that the software has and I can now redesign and think over any of the design ideas that I initially had. First of all I started by seeing how easy it was to include a picture on the page, it is incredibly easy to get an image on the webpage and it can be done in two ways. The first way to get an image on the page is by simply copying and pasting it from a source such as the internet, the second way is just as simple and it would be used if you were trying to get an image that you have saved onto the product, you would just open up the location where the image is saved and then just drag and drop it into the webpage. The second thing I tried doing with the software was embedding a video which was also relatively simple to do, on the right side of the page is a tool bar with a selection of widgets that you can place on the webpage and there is one specifically for adding YouTube videos. All that has to be done to add a video is drag the widget where you want it and then copy and paste the URL code in a box that appears on screen, after that the video will load itself up and the size can be altered as well as where it is positioned on the page. Shortly after adding the video I added some text to the webpage to see how accessible the options were, the options are very easy to navigate, however I did not see an option for text alignment which means it could become problematic if certain chunks of text need centring. A feature that I have commonly seen on band websites is the incorporation of a media player of some sort, it will often play a few select songs from the bands repertoire. I first tried including something like that on this webpage by adding a music file to the webpage but the problem with it is that it doesn't look like a sophisticated media player, so the only way I can think to get what I'm looking for is using the HTML widget, which is the last thing I added to the webpage. The HTML widget allows you to embed any item with a HTML code on the webpage so in this Instance I used a game to see if it would run smoothly and when I published the webpage it ran perfectly.

From my initial use with the software I think I may have to change some design features as the options I would like to include on the website are not able to be implemented with the software available to me.

Freytags Theory

Today we learned about Freytags theory of dramatic narrative, Freytag believed that a text should be divided into five main and distinguishable parts, the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and either the resolution or catastrophe at the end. The exposition is basically the introduction to the text and sets the scene for the rest of the narrative to follow, straight after the narrative is the rising action which is when parts of the literary narrative build up and develop the plot. Immediately after the narrative had been built up is when one of the most important parts of the narrative happens, the climax, the easiest way to explain the climax is by saying that it is when the "plot thickens" and a problem occurs that the character must get past, each genre has its own stereotypical climax story. Following the climax is the falling action which is where a conflict will about to be resolved or there is a final moment of suspense which makes the outcome of the narrative unclear, if the narritive was not following the standard cliched rules. Finally is the resolution, otherwise known as the dénouement, which is where the plot is resolved and everything comes full circle leaving the characters with a sense of normality again. Freytags theory can be devised into a pyramid which shows the full completion of all the stages:

If you build further upon the idea of Freytags theory pyramid you can see that it almost looks like a simplified graph of the narrowing growing and them shrinking to fit with the narrative. I constructed a more detailed graph which shows the same five steps only applied to the music opposed to a literary text: 

Focus Group

This is the focus group we did in order to help us research the topic of Indie music videos in more depth. We compiled a questionnaire and then used the results that we found would be of use to us and then asked those people to attend a focus group where we got them to watch three Indie music videos. These music videos were ones that we thought best summarised the Indie genre and also videos that we could use for the basis of ideas for our own video.

We discovered that the second music video we showed the group, "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand was the most popular amongst the individuals within the focus group. They said that they found it the most interesting because of the unique art style that was incorporated into it and also because of the heavy use of animation. In addition the group also mentioned that it was out of the ordinary and not something you see in every music video.

"I Predict a Riot" by the Kaiser Chiefs was also a popular video, although not as popular as the Franz Ferdinand video. The reasoning behind this the group gave was because it was fun to watch for the audience and there was very little narrative just fast jump cuts showing many different images. The group suggested that we try to incorporate something interesting, be it narrative or performance, in the video because it will attract peoples attention.

Creating a questionnaire

Below is the questionnaire that we created as a group, we intend to use the helpful feedback that is returned to us in order to see what type of person should be included in our focus group. The questions we have included in the questionnaire will help us understand in what age group Indie music is most popular with and also if the genre is preferred by one gender more than the other. Our questionnaire is also a good starting point to find out which Indie band is the most popular amongst the people answering it, after we have collected the data we can then research the band that was the most popular and see what it is that has made them so favoured.

Questionnaire

Initial Web Design Plan

1st hard copy website plan 

Final hard copy website plan 

1) Navigation bar + Drop down menu - I decided that the navigation bar would be positioned at the very top of the page as this is one of the first places the audience's eyes would be drawn to if they were to view the website. If iWeb is capable of the task I would like the first button, on the navigation bar entitled "Band Bio," to be an interactive drop down menu so that each member of the band is listed, this is because it would make the website seem more engaging for the user and thus more memorable, which in turn would mean the website is meeting its purpose.

2) Login section - If this plan was for a full working band website it would probably have a login section for a fan club of some sort, although the website isn't going to be fully operational I tried to imply the login section by adding a "Username" and "Password" text box where the respective fields would be filled in. I positioned the login section below the navigation bar as many websites have it at the top of the page and the users would therefore find it easier to get used to using.

3) Advertisement Banner - Adverts are commonly placed in two places on a website, at the top going horizontally across the screen or at the side of the page spanning vertically. I decided that the advert should be placed at the top of the page as this means that I have more room to manipulate the text and other features further down the page. In addition if its at the top of the page it won't distract the user when they scroll further down the page and as the advertisement will be advertising a product by the band it doesn't have to be big and flashy with loads of attention drawn to it.

4) Latest News with the band - This is where the main body of text will be placed on the page and will be filled with the latest information about the band. It is important that the main body of anchorage text is positioned centrally on the home page as this draws attention to it and makes the audience aware that it is one of the most important features on the page. The more important someone feels something is the more attention they pay to it so if the text is centred the audience will be more provoked to read it.

5) Social Network feed - Many Indie bands use social mediums to promote themselves so I thought it would be important to include a social network feed that will show the latest messages from websites such as Facebook and Twitter. However this may have to be changed when creating the webpage as there is a high probability that the social network feed would greatly slow the web page down. I haven't looked into that much yet but I think the easiest way to get a social network feed on iWeb is by using a HTML code.

6) Interactive Image gallery slide show - Near the bottom of the page there will be an interactive image gallery that automatically cycles through images in the gallery. Only selective images will be cycled through though as this feature would otherwise negate the point of having a gallery page. Having a feature like this makes the website appear more professional and sleek and therefore fulfils its purpose more as a greater amount of people would then want to visit the website again after they had used it once.

7) Bottom of the page hyperlinks - At the very bottom of the page there will be a secondary navigation bar that does the same task as the navigation bar at the top. However the text at the bottom will be less like a navigation bar and more along the lines of an obvious hyperlink, with the respective titles going to the respective pages. 

Web Page Mood Board

In my mood board I have focused on the idea of patriotism quite a bit with the central image being the Union  Jack flag and an image of a group of Mods from the 60's. Our group decided that the band should be portrayed as British and be styled the same way as their music is very similar to other British bands. We also decided that they should be fashioned the same way that other British Indie bands are looking like they're Mods from the 60's as it was a very iconic time in terms of both music, fashion and media. Other philosophies that I tried to get across in this mood board are the notions of peace and how the band believes that peace should always be the way, this shows their almost naive like nature of the world as they don't have the life experiences that older generations have. I also linked the band strongly to the idea that for them it is just about the music and not the lifestyle that is meant to come with it, this makes them appear more innocent and easier to market as people will instantly like them if they are considered to be just about the music an nothing else.

Representation of the Artist

This image is a visual representation of the way I would like the band to be marketed and shown in the music video.
Starting at the top left of the image is a music stave that twists and represents the path the band must take to achieve success in a profession they feel strongly about. On the stave is a selection of notes which someone could denote as all the problems they will have to face in their career.

Bellow the music stave is an image of the band called the "Arctic Monkeys"  we have modelled the apparel of our band off of them, which means our band would look similar to a 60's mod gang, however we may have to subvert something in their appearance as we don't want the band to seem like they share the same beliefs as the "Mods." The image also connotes that the band work as a unit and this is another way we want the band marketed.

Underneath the image of the "Arctic Monkeys" there is an image of  one of "Lady GaGa's" album covers with a saying on it called "The Fame Monster." This implies that many Pop musicians are in the business just for the fame. However her album cover is crossed out and which implies that the image is saying the opposite and that our band are there because its a profession they feel strongly about and they're willing to excel the honest way, through hard work.

To the right of the "Lady GaGa" image is a picture of a young child with the word "innocence" written on his arm, which connotes youthful innocence. This is another ideal that we want our band marketed as because they are young and we want them to appear naive about the music business, this naivety will make the band appear more friendly and as a result more likeable. 

Finally above that image is a picture that recreates the Greek myth of the king Sisyphus trying to push a rock up a hill. Whilst the story behind the image doesn't really convey the correct message about the band, the image does. It shows determination to succeed no matter how hard the task is to succeed at.

Music Video Idea Pitches

The Smiling Lies - Space Elevator:
As a group we discovered that the majority of Indie bands music videos heavily emphasise the performance aspect of music videos opposed to the narrative like many pop videos do.

Pitch 1: My first idea focuses on the idea of time as it is closely linked to the word space in the name of the song title "Space Elevator." The band members would be filmed individually and they would each play at a different speed, be it through their own personal judgement or through our editing. They would then meet up, most likely around the drummer, and they would begin to play together in time. However as the band members begin to play in time, it affects time around them and people in the background would either be interacting at a rate that is either slower or faster than normal. I think that the band should be in a public space and also go unnoticed by the public as they go about their business.

Pitch 2: An idea that often occurs in Indie music videos is the idea of juxtaposition where two things are compared with each other but yet they are complete opposites. I was thinking that we could satire the mainstream pop music industry and have stereotypical concepts appear in the video such as Beauty shots of the lead singer whilst the rest of the band act like you would expect an indie rock band to. This would cause conflict between the members in the band until the band gets fed up and they surround the singer whilst he is posing as a generic Pop artist. The singer would then go out of shot whilst surrounded by the band and then reappear dressed as so he fits in again with the rest of the band. This would all happen before and during a live performance of the song with an audience.

Pitch 3: This idea would take a very long time to edit and it would most likely prove to be very problematic to create, but it could still be doable. Each band member is assigned a colour, most likely a primary one such as red, blue or yellow, the world around them would be black and white and very dull, but as each band member passed an object it would light up as there colour. I was thinking that the band members could each take multiple different routes to get to an empty venue but on the way they would each light up their respected route with their own colour. Before the band get to venue it should be empty but when they get there it would fill up with an audience and the colours would be highly satirised.

Pitch 4: A fourth idea idea that I think we could use is the band are shown playing the last couple of seconds of a song at a live concert, in a small venue, they only have one fan there though and they get fed up and wished they could have more fans. A warp like effect would then appear on screen where they are playing at a bigger venue and they have a much larger audience. About halfway through the song the audience will change from the bands idea of an ideal audience to something hellish and out of their nightmares. The band get caught by the hellish audience but when all seems hopeless the bands one and only fan from their previous show turns up and saves them. The band and fan then attempts to escape in an elevator, relating to the name of the song, before managing to get back to their original gig where they play the remainder of the song.

Pitch 5: My final idea is more loosely based around the idea of interesting camera shots while the band performs, there would be a small acted narrative either in the background of the video or it would cut to it every so often. These camera shots wouldn't focus on the band members as people but rather as body pieces and instrument parts. The band members faces shouldn't be revealed until the end of the song and even then their faces wouldn't be seen as they would be wearing masks that make them appear faceless.