Pre Production planning

Pre Production Planning

Dolby

Sarah,
There are lots of interesting ideas here and you have a clear vision in regards to the style, genre and audience. As you are going for conceot based this is a little risky and needs to be your own idea as the example you have is very similar. I suggest you still have the artist to fulfill the record company demands etc.
The main area I think you need to work on is some more TECHNICAL analysis of your real media artefacts- try to look at editing, timing, shot types etc as this will really help you in the storyboarding part of your project. Try to upload the rest of your research asap and also organize the blog more clearly.

Mise-en-scene

When filming my video, I plan on attracting my audience through a concept based style, this in itself will represent my band Massive Attack, as they belonged to an organic and dream like world scene. The flowing and free forms of the ink will create that organic feel and almost hypnotic atmosphere, again linking back to the 'stoner' culture of the Bristolian saga.
As my video doesn't involve costumes or a narrative location, I have to find a separate way to appeal to my audience through mise-en-scene. The first way in which I aim to do this is is through my colour choice of ink, from my audience survey I found that the colours; White, Black and Grey, were most fitting to my piece and that the audience liked them most. One participant even noted that the word 'angel' itself reminds them of haven, and those colours best represented it.

As I directly questioned my audience I have found what they like the most and how they want it portrayed. Although I am not completely following their needs and gratifications, I am putting my own personal twist in order to create a fresh perspective on what they like. 

Concept based videos for genres like dance and other similar, all follow a particular style, and as Trip Hop is a combination of all of these, I aim to incorporate the same codes and conventions as those seen in videos like Gnarls Barkley 'Crazy' or The XX's 'Angel'. The lighting will need to be as bright as possible in order to fully appreciate the colours I will be using, therefore amplifying the dance iconography. The colours and lighting therefore need to compliment each other in that sense.

Representation

Trip Hop originates from Bristol, therefore Massive Attack are apart of the ‘Bristolian Saga’, home to West Indian culture. Bristol’s music scene was fuelled by drugs, although it is a negative representation, the use of drugs created the lure of a dream world and the organic art work that is seen in chill and lounge music that evolved from Trip Hop.  In order to keep to the ideology of a dream world, I wanted to use ink drops and create the nature of the Bristolian saga.

The conventional stereotype for Trip Hop is quite blankly ‘Stoners’, however this in itself challenges their stereotype. Most often people talk down to ‘Stoners’ as they believe to be a better human being, though they would consume alcohol and other ‘poisons’. Stoners are generally a friendly minority, peaceful and harmless. In order to convey this in my video, I want to have different cameras angled in opposing places, to capture that there is more than one side to them. This will then be amplified by pulses of slow motion, representing the peaceful and almost dream like land that Bristolian’s lived in.

There is a timeless need for base-heavy sound; it is for that reason that punk eventually became involved in the Trip Hop scene. As Trip Hop alone is a combination of varying genres, it allows it to have a wider audience, although the ages will be similar, the types and classes of people with be larger. As Trip Hop united varying classes all over Britain, I will be using contrasting colours like, white, black and grey to represent the differing sides, like; Punk, Dance etc…

By removing actors and any artist performing, I want to reflect upon the music being the key feature; this is similar to The XX’s “Angels” video, it is the music that takes the lead, and the video supports it. Although you as the audience don't get o fully see the female body, therefore you wouldnt see sexualising of women and the need for Laura Mulveys ‘Male gaze’ theory, howver, by using lips in the video sycning to "you are my angel" and directing it at the male audience, with the additional signifier of red lipstic, creates a sexual theme. You could also suggest that the free forming ink flows represent the curves of a female. Even though the sexualising isn't direct and obviouse, it allows for an active audience to see these themes. Additionally, Andrew Goodwin’s therory of a relationship between visuals and lyrics is used.

Inspiration

Music 101

Music Video Theorists

Music Video Theorists

Audience Questionnaire Results

Audience Questionnaire

My Target Audience questionnaire

Target Audience Descriptions

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Analysis of Massive Attack 'Unfinished Symphony'

Massive Attack “Unfinished Symphony”

The song "Unfinished Sympathy", by Massive Attack an English trip hop group who also produced alongside Jonny Dollar, features vocals from Shara Nelson. The song was released as a part of the artist’s debut album ‘Blue Lines’, 1991. The album combines various musical elements into its arrangement, this including vocal and percussion samples, drum programming, and string orchestration by arranger Wil Malone.

The narrative based video is idealised on the loving someone more than they love you, the sorrowful lyrics depict, "How can I have a day without a night, you’re the book that I have opened, and now I've got to know much more." These both suggest she's had some kind of contact with the person but only a limited amount and it's left her wanting more. "Like a soul without a mind..." beautifully conveys the feeling of emptiness as a result of this desire, she is missing something she needs, although this could perhaps be a resignation to the fact she won't get what she wants. The line "You really hurt me baby..." expresses her angst and despair about the fact the other person pulled away or does not require her love, I don't think it's a reference to a previous relationship or questioning whether she will get hurt if she enters a relationship. The entire video is filmed on a dolly, of which is tracking the female as she goes through the stages of recognition in Tzvetan Todorovs theory. Although the lyrics don’t physically match the visuals, audience can focus on certain aspects, in order to come to understand that she is unsure whether the next relationship is going to hurt her like the previous one and goes onto question, "How can have a day without a night". When she lip-syncs to this she looks hurt and her boy language becomes more hunched, thus demonstrating that she is confused by the question. She then goes on to state, "Like a soul without a mind", the active audience then need to question whether she is just lusting for a physical relationship without thinking of the hurt it could cause "In a body without a heart". Thus amplifying that although, classical purists may sniff at the slow-moving strings and soft piano work, the emotional effect is extraordinary when paired with Shara Nelson's vocal. A sleek, catchy drum program with a little shadowed scratching, complete this simple yet moving, dance production.    

This is all amplified by Nelson's "eerie" vocals and the evocative violin, demonstrating pain over a relations. A relationship between visuals and music is the created. Within the first 20 seconds of the video, when the singular beat evolves into the first verse, a gang of 5-8 men begin to walk .You notice that during production a CD of the soundtrack would have been played in order to  match the beat perfectly first time round, instead of editing the pace to the same of the song. As the song then nears to the penultimate instrumental ending, you notice that she is becoming more frustrated with herself for falling for this person. It is at this moment that she begin the process of restoring order to her life; additionally, a slow eye roll is purposely used to emphasise the key violin 'rift'.

As the whole video is based around a dolly tracking the female, she is looking directly into the camera, this them therefore, creates the notion of looking. Additionally this means there are no close ups to her specifically, it is medium to long shots instead. As she is looking directly into the camera, when as an audience come to understand that she, during recognition is becoming more confident. It is for that reason that there isn't any sexualisation and the need for Laura Mulvey’s theory of the 'Male Gaze' is non-existent. The reason for the producer to choose for the woman to be looking directly into the camera is an attempt to break the fourth wall, the band wanted to be closer to the audience. The woman therefore, is the medium to do this, she is a sense is asking the audience for help, and it is for them that she restores order at the end of the video. This idea of connecting with the audience is also found in the digipak for the single. 

The cover depicts a hand that is held in a way as if it is holding it up to reach for the audience’s hand. The naming of the single. 'Unfinished sympathy' could then be argued that Massive Attack are asking for the audience to finish the rest of the album, it is up to them how it ends. Although the needs and gratifications of Massive Attacks audience isn't as wildly idealised as other bands, their ways of connections to them , causes fans to keep listening to their music. The house style throughout the albums works is earthy colours with high contrasting, this is done to recreate the organic style of Massive Attack’s style, although you could argue that the colours used are similar to that of reggae, the audience isn't confused of this colour choice as it isn't the stereotypical reggae style, it is Massive Attacks take on it. This can then be supported by the fact that they are a band based on more than one genre, their music contains aspects of reggae, and therefore the covers house style represents this perfectly. The same image is again found on the poster advertising the album:

The poster, although is less coloured and the contrast appears to be higher, has continued the motif of this particular album. The unmistakable hand, with the name and title superimposed in the foreground, allows the audience to make the connection between the album cover and the poster. 

The poster also notes additional information depicting that various artist feature on the single, although this isn't found on the front panel of the digipak, you can understand that a sticker advertising the two artists would be placed on the CD; This in itself will than bring in a secondary audience and even a third, thus widening the already mass audience.

This style of high contrasting is again found in the music video itself, it is used to create the laid back sense, however this is opposed by the emotionally journey that the character is going through. 

The text on both the digipak and the poster are the same, - Arial Black - this continuity than allows the audience to make the connection stronger. On the front pane of the digipak, the full name of Massive Attack isn't added, the audience only read "Massive" followed by their logo. Due to Massive Attack having a recognised following from their given target audience, they now have a recognition factor. For example; when the audience member looks at the CD and Sees "Massive", they instantly make the connection of it being Massive Attacks work. Historically, the reason behind the dropping of the "Attack" was at the beginning of 1991 due to pressure from their record company, fearful that they would not get any radio airplay as “massive attack” was sensitive at the time (the Gulf War) This name change lasted for a period of 6 months but after which the Unfinished Sympathy single was never re-pressed meaning that only the Massive is on all copies of it.

The highly contrasted image of the hand and its colouring - red, green yellow and blue - follows the style of  the artists, additionally this reinforces the reggae style of this particular album. The style is continued onto the back pane where you come across a piece of artwork by Robert Del Naja, "In The Lab" Naja's work in itself is a motif of Massive Attacks style, also know as 3D, his artwork has been featured on all of the bands releases and he still holds his own in the current climate of the contemporary art world. Taking his cues from early punk album artwork, 3D was one of the first to experiment with spray paint with stencils in the street. 3D's ideal represents the same as Massive Attacks, both belonged to societies that were once considered an outsider, however their cutting edge approach to art (in varying forms) begun a new wave for the coming generations.       

The back pane's font is the same as the front and posters accompanying it - Arial Black - this is also recognisable with the majority of their work ; Massive Attack here have once again created a motif of their own and almost stylised this particular font to represent them and their work. Due to this particular CD being a single, the back panes media language only consists of the titles of the songs (four to be exact) and the small print detonating the institutional values and person els. The bar code and name of the single is found on the fold pane, this therefore allows for the art work on the back pane to be fully appreciated and not covered by economical needs. 

 

                                                                      

Analysis of The XX 'Angels'

The XX “Angels”

The xx are an English indie pop band formed in London 2005. Angels is taken from their second album, Coexist, of which was released 2012.Davy Evans was the artist who created the photography and moving image for the XX album 'Coexist'. The visuals were created 'in camera' to mirror the organic sound of the record, amplifying the indie genre that The XX follow, therefore there is no sense or reference to the notion of looking in this particular video. Album design and Art Direction by Phil Lee and Romy Madley Croft. The video as a whole is two minutes and fifty four seconds in length, this meaning that due to the song being relatively shorter to the average three minutes thirty, they are able to do a concept based video as it wont bore the audience and be repetitive. 

When watching the music video you find a link between the lyrics and the visuals seen, the main line I picked up on was, “And with words unspoken, And silent devotion”. The image of the video as a whole is very earthy and is one image replayed and animated to match the tempo of the music; you are visually presented with Andrew Goodwin’s theory of ‘Though Beat – Seeing the sound’’.  The line, not only symbolises that an image of someone speaking or lip-syncing is missing, but also demonstrates a trance like state captivating the audience into their ‘silent devotion’. Thus amplifying the indie genre and what the artist aim for in their stylistic yet simple work. This can also be found when entering their home page on their website. You find upon opening, their black stylistic motif (band logo) surrounded by nothing but an empty space, with only the leading links to the other pages in an off grey tone, just visible to the eye. This is seen again during the chorus of the song, "They would be as in love with you as I am", the only bit in the chorus that is fully emphasised is the first four seconds where the base is at its lowest. As the base then eases up, so does the waves in a rippling effect.

When moving the mouse over the visible image, a wave of colour follows your movement, this then can be linked to the relationship between visuals and the music itself during the music video. This wave of colour can be linked to the change of pace in the song, although the song as a whole is primarily slow (to match its indie pop genre), nearing the end an almost numbing sound is played during the penultimate verse. The centred rainbow is animated to takes seven seconds of the song for it to shift upwards in a three second burst before returning back to its original placement for another seven seconds, when this occurs it amplifies the sense of numbing. Another example would be; when the base begins to play the ink drops, positioned in the bottom left pulse in sync. Therefore demonstrating a visual representative of the instrument. 

As The XX are an indie pop based and, a motif seen commonly throughout the coexist album and into their earlier work is organic images. However, due to it being a mixture of indie and pop, The XX needed to steer away from the stereotypical greys and blues linked with indie. It is the pop side to their music that created such an uncommon music video, in order for them to match the genre; brighter, earthier and more organic colours were used to intensify photographer Davy Evans work. Constantly throughout the album and its matching artwork, there is a particular shot type used, a head on shot is taken, it is not cantered or angled in any way. This acts as a contrast to its attempt to steer away from stereotypical indie work, as it is a straight forward and simplistic shot.

The XX’s logo is also another motif used throughout their entire work. Although it isn’t present in their ‘Angels’ music video, in some interpretations and fan edited versions the video sometimes begins or ends with the logo on screen. In some cases, where the creator is more advanced, the video is edited to fit into the logo itself. It is also found on the front of the Digipack and posters advertising the Coexist album, therefore allowing the audience to instantly recognise who the artist is. It also stands out when sitting on the shelf as the black and white create such a contrast, it draws the consumer to it. The front, inner left and CD itself contain the "X", however the inner left pane is a cut out of with encases a small booklet, filled with song lyrics and more images by the same  photographer as the music video. The back pane follows the simplistic continuity of the entire Coexist range; the songs and be found on the left of the centre of thirds, along with the bar code. The text on the inner centre and back pane are all capitalised Arial Black, - seen on the webpage and posters -  however the inner centre is more busy than the back pane. This inner centre consists of the artists and companies smalls prints, ranging for institutional values to general artists knowledge.

The concept based video can also be argued to represent a spiritual vision or image, this has then led people to create links to space photographs, very organic images. The wording throughout the Digipack is very simplistic and almost organic, echoing the style of the music video.
However, with one of the Coexist posters, they flipped the contrasting colours, instead of having black on white, it was switched to have white on black. This swatch doesn't take away from The XX's preferred reading of being an Indie Pop band, instead it creates a breath of fresh air and a differing option for fans, if in the rare chance they don't like the black on white original verison. Additionally, you do notice that the white on black version is missing the albums name, this meaning the audience have alreading been keyed into understanding that the logo belongs to The XX and that it represents the Coexist album; nevertheless, the layout stays the same with their iconic simplicity. 
The issue with having such a simpilistic layout, means that facebook and website links, along with a release date s cut out from the final product. This then means that the active audience will have to research for the information, it isn't simply given to them. The XX have instead of giving information, they have restricted it, which in effect can create a higher demand of want and need for the information and then the album, thus portraying a sense of engima code.

 
Overall, The XX are extremely clever to create such a captivating video and concept throughout this particular album with such simplicity. If the viewer wasn’t paying much attention, the image would appear to be still, but it is the active audience who see the visual representative of the music.

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