Research & Planning - Location

Shoot 1- Performance

Due to the song having an upbeat tempo, it seemed only fitting that we should film somewhere in the sun. The only problem with this is that we rely on the weather. To cause the least logistical problems with the band, we thought it would be easiest to film near them. Initially we had the great opportunity to film in a warehouse belonging to the lead singer's family. However, this became problematic since there was work that would be occuring on our planned weekend and so would be quite distruptive. Hence, we decided to film in a nearby forest and in their practise studio in a bandmember's house. The only problem lay in the fact that I would have to film on my own due to work commitment, but this was mostly resolved by grabbing another pair of hands to help myself out with the shoot itself. The band's performance studio initially looked quite bare and so we bought nice looking backdrops and fairy-lights in order to make the space look more fitting for a music video.

Most importantly, we wanted to make sure that the setting was light and therefore would fit with the genre of Littlewing's music. Luckily, the woods provided a lovely setting for the light-hearted nature of the song, as well as consistantly providing the green/yellow colouring which we wanted to display throughout the music video. It was also key for us that we had good weather for this day. Without good weather, the entire music video would appear almost unconnected to the song. For example, if we were to have dull, rainy weather, it may be better suited to a song that had a saddened, deep meaning. In order for the meaning of the music video to be clear, ideally we needed sunny weather - connoting happiness. 

Shoot 2 - Narrative

In order to make sure that the music video flows nicely we decided to film on national trust land or 'woodlands walk' as to appear as though the couple are on a romantic sunday walk. The colours therefore would hopefully match to the performance shoot and therefore not appear jarring.

Research & Planning - Casting

Since we wish to make a narrative and performance based music video, we needed to find extra cast. Firstly, the main performance is the band themselves and in this way, they could mostly manage their own image. For the narrative we wish to create however, we needed ideally to have a girl who was similar looking to the lead singer. This is because we wished to create a narrative whereby the audience believed that the girl is in the relationship with a boy was infact the lead singer, however, it is revealed at the end that, in fact, the girl is not her. This had to be changed since we were unable to logitically fit in such a big narrative into the music video which is supposed to be mostly performance based. 

Also, we were unable to meet up with the lead singer to shoot some extra shots in order to make the narrative clear. In this end we ended up using myself, since it came to our attention that I look the most like her. As for the boy in the relationship, we decided to choose a friend who would feel comfortable acting in such a situation. It was important that we had a young cast since the band themselves are quite young and as such have a young target audience. The song itself also proves to be about a young first relationship. 

Research & Planning - Costume Ideas

Since 'Littlewing' are a small indie/alternative band, we wished to keep their look very simple as many indie bands create an image which is patricularly 'relatable' to a yound audience. This kind of attitude is perhaps displayed through Wolf Alice's presentation.

With bands of the same genre, clothing remains very casual, we wanted to continue with this:

Main Task - Ideas for Shoot

Main Ideas:

Draft/initial idea storyboards

• Performance based music video
• Performance and narrative based music video

Main Task - Lyrics Analysis - 'Wasting Time'

(click to expand)

Main Task - Chosen Song - Littlewing 'Wasting Time'

Main Task - Mood Board

Main Task - Chosen Artist - 'Littlewing'

For our music video we chose a band who were easily accessible:

'Littlewing'
3-Piece Alt-rock band from Bucks
'Barricades' EP
Annie Needham - Guitar / Vox
Joe Humphrey - Drums
Nick Morgan - Bass / BV's
(( Lewys Blore - Alto Sax / keys/ BV's ))

In this way, I wanted to ensure that the band would be willing to be in the music video - since we were keen to do a mostly performance based video - and would be happy to use their music for our piece. The reason why why chose this track was perhaps becauase it is quite light hearted, and since we knew were going to be completing production in summer, weather conditions would (hopefully) be nice and thus, reflective of the light-hearted song.

Wolf Alice's Target Audience

Looking target audience for our chosen band 'Littlewing' is easier when looking into bands who fit into the same genre, since our band are still quite small; however, they do still seem to have the same target audience. Wolf Alice are a indie rock/alternative band whose target audience is mostly teenagers/young adults.

A journalist writes:
"Like Peace, Wolf Alice are unafraid to discuss a range of weighty topics. Unlike Peace, Wolf Alice have the sophistication and subtlety to pull it off. They address depression, anxiety, jealousy, nostalgia, isolation and mortality over the course of an album that never feels content to fall back on clichés. These are issues that will be at the centre of the lives of wolf Alice’s target audience – teenagers – an audience who are used to being patronised or ignored. Wolf alice never do that."

In this way, their target audience is perhaps defined by what their songs are actually about, since it is evident that young teenagers would relate to such topics, perhaps most painfully mental health issues. Despite this, it is clear that Wolf Alice and our small band 'Littlewing' do connect and thus their target audience consists of people mostly between the ages of 16-25. 

Creating a music video for this demographic is perhaps made easier by the fact that we fit into this category and so have more insight into what works well. 



How does Wolf Alice appeal to their audience?

Roswell said to the Guardian that what people connect to in 'My Love is Cool' is the idea of "coming of age" "not like 16 but the wobbly ages of 18 and 20". Alicia Carter writes, "there is sense of the band emerging into adulthood and realising they can't escape the feeling of being trapped". This transition to adulthood engages their teen/young adult audience since they relate to this directly. Also, due to the band being led by a female, it can be argued that their audience is perhaps more female. Recently, at Reading Festival it was evident that the majority of bands had male lead, therefore making Wolf Alice stand out more, providing a strong female lead which is perhaps not so common. In fact, the lack of female leads at Reading Festival has been a subject of controversy in recent times. Consequently, female audience may relate to the band more out of a sense of female empowerment, as well as relating to their lyrics.

As a band originally from Camden, it can also be argued that the band have a lot of British following. Building a British fanbase enabled the band to go onto a US tour in 2016. Perhaps why the band are so popular in the UK is the fact that some of the band's music is similar to 80s grunge/punk, particularly their single 'Fluffy' which is very reminiscent of 80s Sex Pistols. Thus, the inter-textual reference allows the band to engage in British punk ideology which the 'Fluffy' music video demonstrates. 

Audiences and Genre

Who are the specific audiences for particular products?

34% of Vevo music fans say they pick and choose amid many music types, although 25% are just locked into one kind. As a group, Vevo points out, millennials report they watch more Netflix than they do cable, though for Vevo the point seems to be that “visual content” is doing well with this age group. (Another chart shows the upticks for Instagram, Snapchat and less so, Vine.)

Interestingly, our music genre, alternative, was the leading genre in sales in the United States with over 50 million albums sold each year (3 out of the last 5 years).

Digital has vastly changed the way audiences consume music videos. The number of digital music downloads that occurred in 2004: 4.6 million. More recently, there were 118 million digital music downloads that occurred in the United States alone in 2013. The most popular internet service to access music is YouTube, with 91% brand saturation.

Target Audience 

We decided that for our chosen, young band, that our target audience would be teenagers (around 16-25 years old), after looking into indie band target demographics, it is evident that, generally, indie/alternative bands have 'younger' audiences. Similarly, since we plan to distribute our media product on YouTube, it is evident that the site is perhaps most popular with this demographic for watching music videos.

Audience Research

What do audiences consume?

Indie Music

The term 'Indie' is used to descibe any music independentally produced or working within the network of independent record labels and underground music venues. Our chosen band, 'Littlewing' (a 3-piece indie/alternative band from Buckinghamshire), perfectly suit the genre. Consistantly, indie bands provide a genre of music which is very authentic and often described as DIY. Indie music is for anyone and everyone to listen, not just the so-called niche indie fans.

How do media industries target those audiences?

It is evident that within our chosen demographic, young adults, social media and digital media is largely how music is accessed.

Interestingly, our genre displayed the largest amount of distribution online - 24%. Thus, this is why we think it would be relevant to distribute our music video on YouTube, now a massive platform in music distribution.

Perhaps unusually, some lesser known artists have the highest earned media value for the brand. For instance, while Taylor Swift has 25x the number of followers on Facebook as Sam Smith, and 15x the audience overlap with Target, the brand saw $1.8 million in earned media value in the month following the Sam Smith release, compared to only $663,000 for the Swift release. 

An interesting statistic following online distribution displaying how much it had progressed over recent years:

TOTAL PLAYS

+363% from 2012
+95% from 2013

Sources: Spotify, YouTube, Vevo, Soundcloud, Vimeo, Rdio

434,695,663,626

Similarly, fans have been able to be increasingly involved in the following of their favourite bands. Social Media platforms have enabled fans to directly contact artists as well as feeling more involved in the making of their music.

TOTAL FANS

+202% from 2012
+186% from 2013

Sources: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud, YouTube, Vine

17,335,824,480

Main Task - Initial Ideas

Warren Fu - Director Analysis

Warren Fu is an American music video director, illustrator and designer. He has directed promos for Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams, The Strokes, Haim, The Killers, Depeche Mode, Weezer and Mark Ronson. Fu is signed to Partizan Entertainment worldwide for commercials and music videos, and Creative Artists Agency for feature films.

"With a background in Art Direction, Warren Fu’s style is very visually orientated. Before stepping into music videos he was designing and developing imagery for LucasFilm, and through this work he’s refined a retro-futurist aesthetic that has carried over to bands. Fu is famous for his use of large-scale signage, with huge illuminated signs acting as the centerpiece for many of his productions." A good example of this is Haim's 'If I Could Change Your Mind'. This level of influence shows just how much respect he is afforded in terms of shaping a band’s image – no small thing when the names involved are as big at the ones he’s working with."

Illuminated signs seem to define the band's iconography, as well as serving as a perfect tool for getting the band's name out there in a memorable way. This is arguably particularly useful for less well-known bands.

Robert Francis Muller - Director Analysis

Robert Francis Muller is an actor and director particularly known for his music videos for 'Years and Years' including 'Real' and their single 'Take Shelter'. 

As a director he has created a music film for U2 in collaboration with the artist Chloe Early and Co-founder of Dazed magazine Jefferson Hack, which is available to buy on iTunes. He has also directed two music videos for the band Years & Years, which feature talented actors such as Ben Whishaw, Emily Browning, Tuppence Middleton, Nathan Stewart-Jarret and the front man of the band and actor Olly Alexander. These two videos combined have received over 46 million plays and counting on YouTube.

Although Robert Francis Muller is not an "established" music video director, his style is already becoming evident as his use of colour is often prevalent and stands out. While directing 'Take Shelter' Muller stated that he worked with the band "on a bizarre story-line that evolved through out production"-

Muller also appears to always have the camera moving, whether that be with circular shots or pulling out as the band run towards the lens. In this way, Muller has already to build this distinct style of using colourful colours, particularly colours which are relevant to the artist/band themselves. For example, 'Years & Years' have a colour palette of greens, reds and blue. Hence, in the majority of their music videos, certainly Muller's, these colours are used to great effect. The use of colour is particularly prevalent in Years & Years' 'Real':

Jake Nava - Director Analysis

Jake Nava is a director of music videos and TV commercials, having created award-winning works over the past decade for some of the best-known artists and brands worldwide.

Whilst completing his film degree, Nava began his professional career directing music videos and films for MTV Sports. He went on create videos for various artists, including Britney Spears and the Rolling Stones.

Here are a few of Jake Nava's music videos, perhaps the most 'iconic' being Beyonce's 'Single Ladies':

Nava presents many conventions of typical music videos, particularly in the 'pop' genre. Perhaps the most common convention being the voyeuristic treatment of the female body. This is mostly displayed through women's lack of clothing as well as their dancing.  Conforming to a previous blog most on the importance of matching visuals to the lyrics, most of Nava's music videos display this and in this way is conventional of typical music videos.

Jake Nava - A Summary:

Analysis of Alternative Music Video - Two Door Cinema Club - 'Something Good Can Work'

The Artist

Two Door Cinema Club are an Irish indie rock/alternative band from Bangor,Donaghadee, Country Down, formed in 2007. The band consists of Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Kevin Baird (bass, synths, backing vocals).
The band's debut album, 'Tourist History', was released on 1 March 2010 by French independent record label Kitsuné Music. In the United States, where the band are signed to Glassnote Records, the album was released on 27 April 2010. 'Tourist History' was selected for the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year (2010) the following year.

The Record Label
Glassnote Records (also known as Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC) is a record label that was launched by American music executive, Daniel Glass, in 2007. The label primarily has a lineup of indie rock and alternative rock artists, most notably Mumford & Sons. The label has also released music from popular artists in other genres, such as Chvrches. The label's music is distributed by Universal Music Group.

Narrative
Two Door Cinema Club's music video mostly consists of performance, however, it does follow the band as they explore a rather sunny and pleasant looking country (jumping in pools etc.).

Mise en scene
Setting and Location
Conforming to the song's pleasant and cheerful feeling, the music video takes place in various sunny places including a pool, the woods, dodgems and a desert - all of which have positive connotations. In this way, this reinforces the lyrics and title of the song, 'something good can work'.
Costume and Make-up
All three band members wear very casual outfits of t-shirts and jeans/chinos, suggesting that the band are perhaps aiming to be relatable. Their outfits also helps to display how the band which to be presented, fitting in with the conventions of a indie/alternative band.

Lighting and Colour
Throughout the music video there is use of high key lighting reflecting the cheerful tone of the lyrics and the music. Even when there are scenes not in daylight (on the dodgems) the colours used are very warm and thus reinforces the light-heartedness of the song and the music.

Analysis of Alternative Music Video - Wolf Alice - 'Bros'

The Artist

'Wolf Alice' are an English four-piece alternative rock band from North London, consisting of Ellie Rowsell (vocals, guitar), Joff Oddie (guitars, vocals), Theo Ellis (bass), and Joel Amey (drums, vocals). They released their debut single "Fluffy" in February 2013, the "Bros" single followed this in May. In October 2013, they released their debut EP 'Blush'. Their second EP Creature Songs was released in May 2014 on Dirty Hit Records. On 24 February 2015 they released the lead single "Giant Peach" from their debut album 'My Love Is Cool', which was released on 22 June 2015, also via Dirty Hit Records. 'My Love Is Cool 'was released in the US on 23 June 2015 via Dirty Hit/RCA Records. The single "Moaning Lisa Smile" charted within the top 10 of the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, peaking at number 9.




The Record Label
Dirty Hit is a British record label, formed in 2009. The label was set up by James Oborne, Brian Smith, and former England footballer, Ugo Ehiogu. Dirty Hit is distributed by Universal Music Group.

Narrative
The music video follows the friendship between two girls, showing them playing together and messing around. In this way, the visuals match the lyrics and therefore meaning of the music: 'Bros'. The narrative follows the girls playing games such as 'knock down ginger', messing around with trolleys, climbing trees, roller blading and running around.

Mise en Scene
Setting and Location
The music video is mostly set in a nearby park to the girls' home in a fairly small town. All scenes follow the girls in and around this area; on the streets and garages. In this way, the music video is perhaps an attempt to recreate a sense of nostalgia as many people will have experienced a similar friendship.
Costume and Make-up
The two girls in the music video are wearing casual jeans and check shirts/hoodie along with converse. It can be interpreted that these girls are perhaps wearing more 'masculine' clothing and in this way it could be reflecting the title of the song, 'Bros' which in turn relates to how the term is generally used for boys. The clothing also displays how they are children and in this way are often portrayed as care-free, not paying much attention to their appearance, but just throwing on clothes in a matter of minutes as to not waste any time and therefore have more time to play.



Lighting and Colour
In general, there is use of high key lighting, although this is sometimes darkened by the English weather, however, this works for the music video since it is set in England, for the English band. The key key lighting complements the light-hearted tone of the music and in this way reinforces the innocence of the girls relationship. There is also quite a lot of yellow throughout the music video which again reflects the joyfulness and innocence of childhood relationships.

Camera Work and Editing
The majority of the music video uses shots which are medium close-up and in, reflecting the closeness of the two girls' relationship as well as creating a connection between the audience and the characters in the music video. Also, to ensure that the narrative music video would not appear jarring, there is use of straight cuts throughout the video, in this way, this helps to ensure the narrative flows and is hence easy to follow.

Analysis of Alternative Music Video - Bombay Bicycle Club - 'Always Like This'

'Always like This’ is a performance based video.

The Artist
Bombay Bicycle Club is an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London, consisting of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar and piano), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Suren de Saram (drums) and Ed Nash (bass). They are guitar-fronted and have experimented with different genres, including folk, electronica, world music and indie rock.

The band were given the opening slot on 2006's V Festival after winning a competition and subsequently released two EPs and their debut single ‘Evening/Morning’. Since then, the band has released four albums including ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’ which topped the album charts in February 2014. The band has toured worldwide as a headlining act, playing North America, Australia, Europe and the Far East.

The Record Label
2009 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company.
Island Records is a major American record label that operates as a division of Universal Music Group. It was founded by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica and has been based in the United Kingdom since 1962. The label are notably known for ‘Keane’ and ‘U2’.

Mise en scene

Setting and Location
The setting of the ‘Always like This’ music video is most like a town in the UK. Settings include coloured garages, flats and 60s housing. There is also shots of ‘local’ town shops including; ‘jumble-sale’ type shop, a ‘Nice and Cheap’ store and a chip shop, all of which are associated with a town in England. The setting is associated with the ‘middle-class’ and the appearance of the music video does seem to be quite ‘amateurish’ which perhaps fits in with the band’s ‘indie’ style.

Costume and Make-up
The main singer wears a green casual t-shirt and jeans, the others in band wear similar casual-style clothing including hoodies and jeans. As the video progresses into later in the day the band wear jackets/hoodies over their t-shirts/shirts earlier in the video. This look suggests the 'normal' look the band are trying to put across, playing on their 'middle-class' London roots.

Lighting and Colour
Throughout the majority of the music video there is mostly high-key lighting which is reflective of the 'upbeat' song. Near the end of the song there is more low-key lighting which could be reflect how the video appears to be quite 'amateurish' and so all the shots were filmed over the process of one day, thus there is low-key lighting at the end of the video. However, at the end of the video it returns to the high-key lighting used at the beginning of the video, repeating the same few shots, just on the opposite, ending on the same shot of the roundabout in an empty children's playground. This could relate to the title and meaning of the song 'Always like this' referring to how things have literally 'always' been 'like this' and so by repeating the same 'motif' and sequence of shots from the beginning it therefore portrays the song accurately.

In general, there are not many dominant colours used throughout the video however,  the colours are not particularly vibrant which could reflect how the town is not displayed as the 'perfect' town and how the band seem to dwell on the fact that they are 'relatable' and use their middle-class London roots to their advantage.

Camera Work

The music video opens with a shot that appears to be the start of a video, with the play button in the top left hand corner. There is a straight cut to a mid-shot of a children's roundabout which is spinning. Throughout the video there is use of this 'play' 'pause' 'fast-forward' typically from the old VHS format. It is though the video is being actually controlled by the viewer. Initially, there is the fast-forward sign as there are continuous straight cuts to various locations. Eventually, the video 'plays' as the bassist walks into shot and again fast-forwards until the video pauses to

introduces the main singer with his guitar in a mid-shot. The video follows the same pattern of fast-forwarding, pausing and playing throughout most of the song. There is also use of a four-shot as the whole band is playing which cuts to a medium close-up of the 'front men' or lead singer. This is most likely used to emphasise their importance and get their face 'out-there' and represent the band in an appropriate way. Close-up shots and medium close-ups are used to perhaps create a connection with the audience and make the video clear and easy to understand.

However, this being a performance based video, this is not so essential but, particularly for a 'new' band (as this was Bombay Bicycle Club's first single) they need to be represented in the right way and apply to the audience they are aiming for. Thus, there are a lot of close-up shots of the lead singer which in turn helps to promote the band, which is perhaps essential to a 'new' band since this may be the first time that many public would have heard of them and so the video needs to be both visually appealing as well as work from the 'business' point of view.

Editing
The pace of the video is quite fast, this is particularly heightened with the use of the 'fast-forward' and 'pause' aspect of the video which is used effectively to increase the pace of the video and slow it down, perhaps in a more literal fashion. There is also use of straight cuts which are used frequently to keep up with both the pace of the video and the cut 'with the music' which creates a sense of fluidity and makes the music video less 'jarring' and, in turn, match the visuals to the sounds.