Finished Digi-Pak + Advert

This is our finished project!

Filming tommorrow, here is our shooting schedule.

Locations, Props.

This week we have managed to book the photography and green screen room at York College. I believe they are suitable places to film our music video.

Shooting in the green screen room will help us in our editing and help us create different backgrounds that our 'band' will be performing in. We will be able to make it look as if 'time is running out' is written all over the walls without going to much effort. The room is also spacious and allows us to have the 'energetic' performance of what we want our band to have. We have access to suitable instruments such as guitar and drums which are used in this genre of music, and will use these in our video to make the 'band' look realistic.

The photography studio is also suitable as we are able to manipulate lighting to give it the 'grim' look which suits the location we are trying to make it look like.

storyboards, planning etc.

1. In a 'bedroom' scene. First shots are a close ups of a wall clock, alarm clock followed by a wrist watch all displaying the same time. Shots will follow after each other to the beat of the very beginning of the song. It then goes to a long shot of a man waking up in bed, from this point the singing in the song starts.

' I think i'm drowing
asphyxiated
I wanna break this spell
that you've created...'

We decided to make the 'bedroom' scene deliberatly untidy, and make the man look 'rough'. He would be sleeping with only a blanket and rubbish would be scattered about the place. By placing a black and white filter over this, we can give this 'grim' image. I belive this fits in with the dark and mysterious style and colour schemes muse use in alot of their videos, and fits with the song. We decided it would look like a strange location which is different, and this fits in with the fact that Muse tend to base their videos in strange locations. Its general style will give the viewer and impression on what type of character the man is and help them understand the storyline which I will explain going on...
2. Long shot as the man walks into the bathroom and looks at himself in the mirror, he looks tired and drawn. At this point there is a closeup of his face, then going out to a medium shot as he splashes his face with water as if to 'wake him up'. This is followed by an over the shoulder shot, the man looks in the mirror and sees a dark, hooded character standing behind him, staring at him. This continues with the mysterious feeling.

'You're something beautiful
a contradiction
I want to play the game
I want the friction...'

3. Still in the bathroom, there is a medium shot of the man looking in the mirror looking back at the character.

'You will be the death of me

you will be the death of me'

This is followed by an over the shoulder shot of the character walking away.

'Bury it

I won't let you bury it...'

The man looks confused but not shocked, as if he has seen the character before.

'I won't let you smother it

I won't let you murder it...'

He looks down and has the words 'time is running out' written all over his arms. Close up of him arms showing the writing.

Throughout the video we will try make the character look as if it is actually there but is actually all in the mans head. We will give the impression that the guy is having hallucinations of this 'dark figure' and that it is somewhat controlling him. From the 'rough' image we have built of him at the start, viewers could have the impression that it is from an illness or from drug use.

' Our time is running out

our time is running out'

4. The man suddenly falls to the floor, his head in his hands. The words 'time is running out' are written all over the walls. It is then followed by a shot of a band performing the song energetically, as muse do in the original song. In this location the words 'time is running out' are written all over the walls also.

'You can't push it underground

you can't stop it screaming out'

5. The band carry on playing, while swiching to shots of the man looking around at the walls. It is almost as if the man can't escape this 'feeling' he's having.

'I wanted freedom

bound and restricted

I tried to give you up

but i'm addicted'

6. Long shot as he begins to tear down the words. Goes to a medium shot of him falling to the floor with his head in his hands, the paper all around him. Again the hooded figure appears behind him, he doesn't notice but senses it.

'Now that you know I'm trapped

sense of elation

you'd never dream of

breaking this fixation'

'You will squeeze the life out of me'

7. Close up goes to a clock on the wall, the numbers and hands begin to 'fall off' as if the clock is melting, as the man has teared down all the words from the walls.

'Bury it

I won't let you bury it

I won't let you smother it

I won't let you murder it'

8. Switches to various shots of the band performing again. Then switches to shot of the man sitting down with two 'dancers' either side of him. They appear to be attached to his arms with black ribbon, pulling him side to side going with the music. This again gives the impression that he is being 'controlled' and that he can't fight it. We decided to show this psysically as it is clear in what we are trying to show. We also thought it would be a good idea as Muse have used backing dancers in their videos before so tell their storyline, for example in the original 'time is running out' video.

'Our time is running out

our time is running out

you can't push it underground

you can't stop it screaming out

how did it come to this?'

9. His phone begins to ring and 'time is running out' is displayed on the screen, he answers and starts to talk to someone, the hooded figure is stood in the background again.

The man dissapears, and the dark figure lowers his hood. It appears that it is him himself that is acting as the hooded figure.

Repeat chorus.







Advert.

We decided that we would advertise Muse's greatest hits. As most bands tend to use to main image of the digipak as the advert also, we decided to do this.

We noticed that on alot of Muse's album covers they tend to use shots or images from their music videos, so we used the shot of the arms we are planning to do on our video. However on this it would display the names of Muse songs that have been released. Using a greyish colour scheme also, it would follow the theme we have been using throughout.

We also decided that the 'Time is running out' theme would be a good idea as fans would recognise it easily, as it is also a well known Muse song. We also included the Muse logo, as Muse use this on every single album cover they have made and again would be recognisable to fans.

As I have mentioned in previous posts that Muse tend to use space as a huge influence in their music we also decided to include this in our digipak artwork as you can see. Again using the time is running out theme, we merged the space theme with it creating a unique design. I beleive this would be a suitable style for a Muse digipak.

primary and secondary audience research

A typical muse fan would generally have the 'indie' look. The look is usually based on medium length messy hair and formal but stylish clothing. This is usually a suit or a shirt. As you can see, the style is very much based on the band members of alternative rock music groups. I noticed this when studying bands from this genre. As I was studying Muse, I noticed that they have also adopted a similar look which you can see from pictures I have posted previously.

As we have been planning our music video, we have decided on who will form our 'band'. The three people that will make up our Muse are all into different types of rock music themselves therefore all adopting a similar look which is similar to this 'indie' one. We decided they would be suitable as they all play instruments that are suitable for this genre eg. guitar and drums. This would give a more realistic performance. Each person will be wearing their own style of clothing. The fact they are all into this style of music helps us as it is a suitable look for our band.

As well as following the style Muse have, Muse fans also appear to be extremely dedicated as from doing more research I have come across fans that have gone as far as getting Muse tattoos.

Less extreme forms of dedication include artwork of which fans may do, or may take time out to make music videos themselves, acting out muse or just putting photos of muse with their music. Since planning and researching our video, to help with our audience research we actually signed up to the muse forum shown here http://muse.mu/ and posted asking if any fans could send us any videos or artwork. However, at the moment we have been unsucessful as we haven't had any replies. But, just from looking on youtube, their are a large amount of videos made from fans when just typing in 'Muse'.

I noticed that fans tend to be fond of the Muse logo. This of which is very recognisable as they have used it on every single album cover and single.

We also managed to interview someone who is a huge fan of Muse, this of which also helped us with our audience research. Later on I will post this video.

Analysis of 2 alternative rock album covers

Band: Taking Back Sunday Album: Louder Now

On this cover it is presenting the album as if it is a movie that people are going to see as it is set in a booth that you usually buy cinema tickets from. This gives the album an individual look. However the face of the person appears to be covered giving it the mysterious, grim look that the other alternative rock music bands seem to have. There is the use of dark colours as well, especially the red.

Band: Madina Lake Album: Attics to Eden

This album cover shows what appears to be fictional characters standing next to a lake. I found that from researching this that this album follows a particular story line and that the album cover reflects it. The characters shown appear to be fantasy like. I found an interview with the lead signer of this band on a website, when questioned about this album cover he says 'Attics to Eden is in reference to the individual’s quest for psychological refuge in a world that is moving too fast for human evolution. It’s about the how we feel the journey to utopia begins and ends in the mind, regardless of the outside landscape.' After finding this the images shown on the album cover become more clear, however i think they wanted the meaning to be less clear so people could think about it themselves as you can draw up many meanings from it. It also comes across fairly grim, not just with the meaning but the colours used and the weather shown on the album cover.

Analysis of 2 Muse album covers

From the album cover below, 'Invincible' we can see the use of the space theme that i mentioned when analysing 'Absolution'. It also has a clear romantic image which is used, yet the colour scheme is strange yet effective and gives the space sort of image I have been describing. 'Knights of Cydonia' which is one of the videos i have previously analysed, I have noticed that this cover is taken from a scene of this video.

After analysis of these album covers and further research it is clear that Muse like to include the theme of space in their music, and this concludes as to why there is some elements of space in some of their videos of which I have analysed. As it is a strange and mysterious topic, it strangely ties in with their unique style which they are associated with in alot of their products.

After researching more about Muse, I found that they use the theme of space as an influence in some of their music. I can see this clearly from the album cover shown above. It shows a man holding what looks like a gass mask staring into the sky, and around him we see shadows what appear to be human like. It shows the world from an abjective view, and the man seems to be looking up in confusion almost at what is above him. This gives us the idea of something that is superhuman or possibly extraterristrial, and the fact that he has a gass mask in his hand gives us the impression he is protecting himself from something. As we saw in the video 'Time is Running Out' which is actually from this album, there is the use of cold colours again particulaly blue.

Conventions

After analysing the videos previously, I have come to a conclusion of how alternative rock videos are presented. However, I have realised alternative rock is a complicated genre, and bands classed as this are usually mixed with other genres as you can see in the videos previously. Muse on the other hand have hints of proggressive rock, whereas the other two bands i analysed would be more likely to be classed as pop punk. Dispite this, they are all classed as 'alternative rock' as they all in a way have a similar sort of sound.

Firstly I noticed in all videos that a live performance of the band is used, along with a story line and it continously switches between the two throughout the video. The performance of the band usually matches the sort of song it is, for example there would be a good, energetic performance if the song was more upbeat. The song we are using, 'Time Is Running Out' is a catchy, upbeat song so in our video we have decided to use the convention of shots of a live band with a story line. The performance of the band will be energetic to match the style of the song and will have to include props such as guitars or a drum kit.

The style of the band, which would usually be seen as 'indie' includes the bands wearing suits, that are usually not so formal but tidy. The members of the band usually have messy or styled medium length hair. This gives them a distinctive alternative look. For our music video, me and people in our group already have a few friends that could match this image therefore using them as part of our 'band'.

I noticed that the storyline tends to be very distinctive and follows a certain theme. This would include location, outfits and props. We have already sort of come up with an idea which i will explain later once we get our ideas together. Even so, we will follow all these conventions, which i belive will make our video memorable, such as the other alternative rock videos we have looked at. There is no particular story line that these sort of videos have, but tend to reflect the meaning of the song. Yet with Muse, the meaning of the video always tends to be slightly unclear due to the individual look and sound they take on.

The meaning the song determines not only the story line but reflects the colour scheme and styles used. For a catchy upbeat song, it may show a love story with alot of bright colours and high key lighting and for a more relaxed song shows more dark and mysterious conventions. However, not too over the top.

analysis of 2 other alternative rock music videos

Band: Jimmy Eat World Song: Always Be

This video is set in a natural history museum. There is a tour of the museum going on, and there are many young people following it, almost as if it is for a school trip or something. All the young people all appear to be 'alternative', you can tell they are most probably into rock music by their image such are dark clothes and eye makeup, however it isn't too over the top so still fits with the genre of music. Black suits are worn by the band, this of which is common of many alternative rock bands.

The story line is fairly obvious in this one. On the tour, a boy and a girl notice each other and continue to look gaze and smile at each other. During the tour, they enter a room saying 'no entry', where they just sit confortably. After nearly been caught, they join the tour again and continue to smile at each other. Alltogether, it just shows the chemistry between two young people and how they like each other, and at the same time maybe are too shy to fully show it.

There are random clips throughout the video of the band performing in random exhibits at the museum, surrounded by animals and dinosaur skeletons. The performance is relaxed and plesant to match the style of the video and song.

Bright colours and a high key lighting have been used throughout which give a possitive, happy feeling. Matching the meaning of the song.







Band: Mayday Parade Song: Jamie All Over

This video is set in a Las Vegas style casino. There are many people gambling on things that you would associate with a casino and there are many people wearing expensive looking formal suits that fit the image of a casino.

The video basically shows the band members going around the casino, each having extremely good luck as they continue to win things. It seems as if the storyline is to do with 'getting lucky in life' somehow, and matches to the song as it is possitive and upbeat. This reflects on how the band performs which is energetic.

The style is very flashy as expected from a casino and many bright lights, colours and props are used.

analysis of 2 other Muse videos

Invincible
This video is set on a childrens' rollercoaster in a themepark. I note 'childrens'' as it shows various cardboard cut-outs popping out from the scenery including animals, people and other pleasant images.

The band are on the rollercoaster and the performance is very relaxed as if they are just calmly enjoying the cruise through this small world. It seems to match the sound of the music; calm and pleasant.

However, as the song progresses we are more aware of the storyline and meaning of the song as the images around the band begin to change, the pleasant images turn into evil creatures and begin to destroy the 'world' around them. It is almost as if the most innocent of things can turn into something bad, however this doesn't at all appear shocking, it still has the childish element of it as even when the characters turn 'evil' they still have the cute look about them and everything still seems fairly pleasant. This however gives meaning to the song meaning they may want to bring across something quite deep. This again fits in with the political element, with people destroying the world. The childish figures however just give a more individual touch, even so it represents something much darker yet they may be trying to bring it across in a less shocking way, as Muse aren't the type of band to show disturbing images.

There is use of bright colours which fits in with it's childish, plesant theme however a low key lighting is used, this of which is commonly used on these sort of rollercoasters.




Knights of Cydonia
This video is set out like a typical style cowboy western film. It is almost film like with the credits rolling at the end, and the names of the 'actors' that are starring in the film that are shown at the begining.

The western style is shown throughtout with the use of fonts, and the quality of the video has been matched with other typcial western films. There seems to be alot of action throughout the video, with alot of fade in-fade out shots used in the fight scenes that add tension.

There appears to be a main character, which i would label an 'anti-hero' bascially doing bad things but for the right reason. The costumes are those that would be seen in a western, such as the boots and the hats etc. Throughout the video we follow this 'anti-hero' on his journey tracking down the 'bad guys'.

What appears to be holographic images are shown in random places throughout the video are snippets of muse performing, this completely goes against the western film and appears to be sci-fi or space like. This of which could have been done deliberatly to give its individual look. Again with the sci-fi element, in the fight scene it appears that when shooting at each other they are firing lazers, not bullets. This also goes against the western theme as this shows much more modern technology. It is mysterious as to why there appears to be elements of space in this video.




After analysing the previous Muse videos, it is clear that they like to clearly distinguish one video from another, as they all appear to have their distinctive story lines and images. It also seems as if they like to make their videos appear much more individual as they tend to do strange topics for their videos, I guess this would help the video be more memorable to the viewer and be more interesting to watch.

Analysis of the Video. 'Time Is Running Out'

This video appears to be set in a dark room. There is a round table and what appears to be people dressed in formal and millitary suits sat around the table. This of which gives us the idea that it is set in an underground bunker, a nuclear war one for example. There is continuous flashing lights throughout the video which give it an individual look.

The people appear to be having a meeting, and it seems almost as if it is political due to the suits and the setting. This gives us the impression of the storyline they are trying to drag across to us and give us ideas of the meaning of the song.

In the middle of the table there is the band, of which seem to be giving a very good, energetic performance. As rock music videos tend to always have a live performance in their video, we decided to include this in ours as it fits with the ideal genre. Muse also appear to be wearing black formal suits, which ties in with the fact what seems to be a political meeting going on.

The style is obviously formal, yet dark and mysterious at the same time. This could be due to the seriousness of the song and shows meaning. The stict colour sceme of cold colours, black and blue give us this feeling as well as the low key lighting. These of which are also associated with most rock music videos.

Idea

After been put into groups we have finally chosen a song and come up with some ideas for our music video. We decided to do the song 'Time Is Running Out' by Muse, I myself am not a huge fan, but after listening and looking at the other videos they have produced we quickly came up with an idea of what we were going to do.

We also decided that Muse would be a good band to choose as they have alot of background information due to them been around for around 11 years and have become fairly mainstream within that time. The genre of the band is alternative rock, this of which is mainly listened to by teenagers and adults. They also have a fairly individual style which makes them different from alot of other rock music bands which they show mainly throught their videos rather than their actual image.

We have come up with the idea of a love sort of story with a twist. Later on I will explain this idea.

Statement of Intent.

I am Jade Aikman, I'm 18 and am currently in my second year at York College studying my A levels. Media of which is one of the subjects I am studying and for our next project we will be producing a music video, digi-pak and poster for one particular band. In groups we will have to come to an agreement of what song we will choose, plan our ideas, work together and produce our final piece. I will continue to use this blog to update on what I am doing and discuss plans me and my group have made.

There will also be alot of planning and filming to be done to make sure we get the right shots we need, and finally getting round to editing and evaluating, putting in all those final touches.

I am doing this because I am interested in media, I have done it for GCSE and have completed a first diploma at merit level. I would say it was one of my stronger points. I have had much experiance with making music videos, both filming and directing and staring in them. In my opinion most things I work on media related tend to turn out okay.