Permission Slip form

To use the actors required in my music video I need permission to use them. Therefore we have had to construct a permission slip form to allow us to use the required actors. Here is what it looks like, I have used the name Bob as an example.

17/05/14

Flume

 Dear__Harley___,

My name is ___Aaron Black_____________ and I am currently studying A-Level Media Studies at Aldenham School. 

As part of my coursework this year, I am creating and producing a music video to a song of my choice.  I have chosen  ____Insane__   by  __Flume__ as the song I would like to create a music video for, and I am writing this letter to seek your permission to do so.

Please note, this video will be used only for my coursework and will not be distributed or marketed in any form.  I would greatly appreciate your permission to use this song.

Many Thanks,

Aaron Black

Planning for my music video

In this post it will give you a slight insight into my music video as I explain some of my plan in terms of the location, the actors which I use, and any props that I will need.

Location

I believe that I will be filming my music video in the same location of where I filmed by short film last year. This is around my house in Pottersbar. I feel my house is a suitable location for a few reasons. Before I go into details I am planning to film a majority of my film outside, with the special effect negative. Therefore I have a large garden to provide space for shots, and a brick wall which will be used like a green screen. Moreover behind by house I have access to woods in which I may also use, as well as the surrounding drive way. Overall I believe filming around here is good as I have experience from last year, and I know where everything is, already giving me ideas of where to film.

Props

For my music video I do not think that I will need to actually use many props, partly due to the fact that I plan to do my music video in the special effect negative, and that my music video will often be close up shots, or movement itself that entertains, again similar to Coldplay's music video 'midnight'. However one prop that may be used is a mask, I am thinking of a mask like 'Micky Mouse or 'deadmau5". This is to add a sense of the unknown or confusion. It will hopefully look good in negative.

Actors

I am likely to use my sister and her boyfriend as my actors. This is because its rather practical as they're easily available at my house, and I actually only need two actors for my music video, in which the acting skills required is very limited.

Flume interviews

In this post I will show you a few of Flumes interviews which he has done. The first one you will see is an interview where Flume explains some of his influences as well as inspiration. He also tries to put a genre on his music.

The next video is similar to the first. However it goes into more depth into how he actually got into making music, and we get an insight into where he got his first record label deal at Future Classic.

The final video looks more into how Flume likes to perform. He says how enjoys festivals as he can walk on stage and get involved, then walk off and remove himself, having some peace. Whereas smaller gigs are much more intense. It was his first time at one of the largest festivals in the world called 'Coachella'. Moreover he explains how different cultures enjoy different styles of his music.

My potential 'type' of music video

In this post I will look at my potential type of music video style if I were to do the song 'Insane' by Flume. I believe that I could potentially do two type of music styles which are, narrative and amplification. This is due to two reasons. The first being that I do have my own creative ideas for the music video, some due to inspiration from others, and because I personally like to follow a story when watching a music video as it engages me, wanting to watch what eventually happens. Moreover from the research that I have done both these types seem popular.

This would be slightly unlike Flumes past music videos, as none or few have been these types, but rather more performance based.

However when I do my music video it will more likely be mix between the two types as I don't want to just stick to one story as it may bore viewers. Therefore a mix can have my creative ideas, contemplated by a short story for viewers to engage with. However due to the song choice the story may be unusual.

I have an idea of an individual having self mind games, as if trying to escape. However this could be shown through a figure trying to reach the individual having the mind games.

My potential song choice!

Over the last few weeks I have listened to and had a few ideas for what song I may choose to use for my music video. Obviously this is a big decision as it can greatly effect my music video in all aspects, such as type of music video as well as genre aspects.

I have also had a think about the genre of song I should do as the genre can often limit what you do in music videos, for example, in a rock song you're not going to have people dancing around a car throwing money around, with weapons, and attractive women. It just wouldn't fit together.

One song that I am thinking of doing my music video for is Flume's song 'Insane'. This song is part of the EDM genre, and therefore does not have such a limit onto what can be done in terms of its music video. However often EDM music videos are narrative based or performance based.

Flume's song 'Insane' was one of his original songs, so he created all himself, and was part of his album Flume which was released in 2012. The song itself has very limited lyrics, with the focus point being the music itself. Here are the lyrics: from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/flume/insane.html

You don't have to be afraid

You don't even have to be brave
Living in a gilded cage

The only risk is that you'll go
Go, Go
Insane
Go, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Oh, go, go, insane
Go, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Go
Go insane
And go
Go insane
And go
Go insane
And go, go, go, go insane
And go

Your mind is on track
For games we play these days
With every path we take
You know your safe, safe, safe
The only risk is that you'll go insane
The only risk is that you'll go insane

And go
Go insane
And go, go, go
Go insane
And go
Go insane
And go, go, go
Go insane
Go insane
Go insane
Go insane
And go, go, go
Go insane

Here is the song, and the official video which took me ages to find! It is not available to Youtube as far as I am aware. The video itself depicts a female of her motorbike, seemingly on a quest of her own. It was directed by Angus Lee Forbes. Here is the link: http://vimeo.com/69749816

I like this song due to the atmosphere of uncertainty that it creates. It is as if there is sweet chaos, due to the uncertainty, however it could be good. In addition I think that its a good song for a music video as there are many different thing I could potentially do with it. One of my idea being, using special effects to create a 'negative' like video, similar to Coldplay's 'midnight'.

questionnaire results

Here are the results from the questions which I asked, from the questionnaire. However a few people who I asked did not understand some of the questions or key terminology, therefore I had to explain some of the questions briefly to expand their understanding.

1) Do you like Music.

2) What is your favourable music genres out of: Rock, rap, hip-hop, EDM, r&b, and classical?

3) What is your favourable music video type: concept, performance, narrative, and amplification? (Some people didn't understand what these meant, therefore I had to explain). 

4) Do you like special effects in music videos?

5) Do the lyrics of a song mean a lot to whether or not you like a song?

6) How do you like music videos to be filmed: From a characters view, or watching the character?

Questionnaire

Before filming my the music video for my film I want to get a bit of an insight into peoples tastes to
see what will appeal to them, and how I could potentially meet their tastes. Although this will not greatly effect my song choice and video, I still feel this can be used to help me meet a certain criteria. Therefore I asked 15 students around my school the following set of questions:

Do you like music?

What is your favourable music genres out of: Rock, rap, hip-hop, EDM, r&b, and classical?

What is your favourable music video type: concept, performance, narrative, and amplification?

Do you like special effects in music videos?

Do the lyrics of a song mean a lot to whether or not you like a song?

How do you like music videos to be filmed: From a characters view, or watching the character?

Updated news - Music video ratings

The latest news coming out on the 1st of October, is that music videos shown online are to now be given age certificate ratings.

David Cameron had welcomed a pilot study to be tested, who says it will help parents protect their children from seeing inappropriate content.

However apparently only three record labels have agreed to sign up to the agreement.

Overall the introduction of ratings for music video has been introduced to protect the young from look at content which they cannot relate to or which is inappropriate, for example some of Miley Cyrus latest music videos, or perhaps some rude songs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29439226

Inspiration - Flume

Flume also known as Harley Edward Streten, is a Australian electronic music instrumentalist, producer and DJ. Harley was born on 5th November 1991, growing up in Sydney. At the age of 13 he began making music. In 2010 when he started to properly make music, he originally started to make house. In 2011 Flume was discovered and joined the Label Future classic. Soon on the 9th November 2012, Flume released his debut album, reaching number one in the charts on the Australian iTunes.

Although Flume has had a lot of success with releasing his own singles, he has also had a lot of success with creating remixes, such as his remix for the disclosure song 'You and me' which featured on a Lacoste advertisement on TV. Here it is.

A vast majority of Flumes songs have been under the genre of EDM - electric dance music, which is not too known for having many music videos along with the songs, and that may be why Flume does not have a music video to match each of his songs, therefore only have a very few. However the few he has done are not largely popular, but do appeal to me. I like the 'holdin on one' because we get an insight into the artists life, as well as the fact its a performance based video with energy. Whereas his other video for 'drop the game' is rather more unusual, with a dancer on a quite road dancing with strange things passing by. Here they are.

Finally the song that I am potentially thinking of doing is a Flume song called 'Insane' which features moon holiday. 

Inspiration - Route 94

In this post I will again look at what has given me some inspiration and ideas, for my music video. This time I will look at music video similar to 'midnight' by Coldplay but not identical. I will look at route 94 and his debut song 'my love' which features Jess Glynee. The song was released in the UK on February 28th 2014, topping the charts.

The music video for the single 'my love' was first released onto Youtube on the 27th of January 2014. The music video lasts for 3 minutes and 11 seconds, and for a majority  of its time is set in a club. Throughout the music video except a short bit at the beginning and ends it is using the infrared effect. At the start we see the man walk into the club, the club itself with people dancing, then him with a girl, who he later goes back to a house with. I was unable to find the director, however I believe it was a video already released on youtube which appealed to Route 94, so decided to use it. Here is the video.

Just like the Coldplay video, I like it due to the uniqueness, giving the video another perspective compared to what it would have looked like if it was not in an infrared (or similar) effect. Moreover I find the video interesting, giving us a small story to follow. In this case the man going to the club and his experience, which gives us an insight into his lift and the club experience.