This is an idea of how exactly I want some of the 'extras/cast' in my music video to look and here are the styles which the females in my videos will be inspired by and the looks they will go for. Of course, They will not be exactly the same or naked as shown in the picture however this is just an idea of how each cast member or character has a different look or personality to them which represents their style and who they are. I believe that this is the easiest, most effective way to show this. I have chosen the following outfits as my Artist’s identity due to the fact that I believe that it goes with the theme of the song whilst also representing the style, theme and character which I’m going for. The outfits which I have shown here are similar to what I would like my artist to wear due to the fact that I believe that this fits in very well with the nature and background of the song which also links to the fact that i believe that my artist does need to be black simply because i believe that it fits much more with the identity of the artist and the original song as well as the dialect used in it but also, the artist which i choose would need to be someone who has a sort of confident nature towards them and in not easily swayed therefore knows them-self as the lyrics used show and represent this for instance, although they are well mannered, they still have a side of them which consists of 'Attitude' and that 'Money Motivated type of lifestyle'.
Big Tobz Ft WSTRN, Avelino & Donae'o - Uno My Style RMX
This video which is a remix to my original music video song was found by myself during the beach-combing inspired me to have a white background and a fun type of minimal theme to my music video interpretation. I believe that this was one of the first things that captured me simply because the minimal black and white editing as well the white background is very effective and I believe should be incorporated in my music video simply because I believe that it allowed me to connect much more with the artists as there were no distracting backgrounds as everything was kept minimal as well as it helped me as a viewer to focus much more on the video rather than anything.
A$AP Rocky - Fashion Killa (Explicit Version)
This video was found by myself during the beach-combing activity which we were set as a task and was originally one of my first ideas for the music which i wanted to execute however was changed. Due to the nature of my song and after transcribing my lyrics, This song was one of the first songs which popped up in my head due to the fact that the main lyrics in my song were 'Uno My Style' and in this video shown above 'A$AP Rocky and Rihanna' use the concept of Fashion in order to create something which doesn't look tacky or fake however really shows their personalities, lifestyles and Fashion sense which I would like to incorporate in my music video in the sense that I would like my artists or those in my music video to also be able to express their personalities and fashion sense in the video ie Through the choice of clothing or etc.
Work REMIX (Explicit)
This video was found by myself during the beach-combing activity which we were set as a task and to be quite honest, I wasn't really drawn to the visuals or the actually editing in the music video itself even though it was very good and was an aspect which I really respect because it was different it was shown and wasn't your usual rap video however I can say the aspect which I was really drawn towards was the attitude of the artists in the sense of the personalities and the confidence which is shown which reflects the nature of the song. It highlighted to me also that similarly to my choice of song, I must ensure that my artists attitude comes across as confident and also captures the audience in this way in the sense that they mean what they say, essentially 'cocky and confident'.
Maleek Berry: Kontrol (Official Video)
This video was found by myself during the beach-combing activity which we were set as a task and I believe this is where I got the most inspiration from for my music video idea and also beforehand even before the music video pitch as well as when my group was decided and we were looking for different ways in which we could present the video. The level of creativity in this video is completely crazy in the sense that the way everything was just visually expressed was truly wonderful from the introduction right to the end of the video, it was simply so playful from beginning to end and fitted very well with the theme of the song. The concept which I would grasp the most through coming across this video in the beach-combing activity was firstly, the playfulness of the video, It led me to understand that not every video must be simply a man walking down the street or just so simple to the point where it becomes cliche but this video reassured me that it was ok to let my creativity flow sometimes as being creative goes a long way. Secondly, I understood that little goes a long way in the sense that, the different characters portrayed by the girls in the video shown by the way they are dressed, they way they present themselves in the form of body language, how they look and the props which they had, everything formed the video and allowed it to come together which was in a sense really magically and honestly did inspire my creativity especially because before even watching this video, I already had in mind some similar concepts to this.
This week was a bit all over the place for myself as I spent the week organising my work for this particular unit and ensuring that I took the initiative to catch up with my team and ask them to update me with the idea and how everything is going due to my absence whilst also ensuring them that although I wasn't about to be physically present throughout the week, whatever ideas or opinions were requires of me, They could always feel free to come to me.
This week, I spent my time ensuring that I caught up with any outstanding work to do with my Music video which was missing or any work in general from this unit as well as making sure that I was on track with everything which had gone on and I had missed even if it meant taking time out to make sure I had everything from pervious work to research together and correct through consulting my team members and also my teacher which was quite tiring and stressful however needed to be done.
I will make sure i update this blog post to also keep it updated with what my team were up to this week when I wasn't actually present just for my own understanding and for the purposes of the post.
This week, My group have created our call sheets which includes the things that were going to need when we have a filming day for example who we need for the cast, props, reminders and where the location is. Also, Two members of the group (Mercedes and Habon)have taken photos of our locations as to where we are filming and further explained the reason that we chose those locations is because of the equipment that we have available to us for example the spotlights/gel lights in the drama room. We have taken it upon ourselves to go the extra mile and buy a personalised sweatshirt with our song title on it and we are currently waiting to be made and arrive which was an idea which was designed by us and derived from one of the production meetings which we had this week which was also the first time we got together in a long while.
For this week, Myself and My Group's created questionnaires which we gave to a variety of people and included a variety of questions in order to understand their interests, likes, dislikes and genreally what sort of vibes they get from our music video idea so that we were able to gather this information together and further understand any points of improvement which could have been made.
We then filmed our focus group feedback which although was a bit of a hasty start due to the amount of takes which we had to take, it did prove to be successful in the end due to the fact that we did manage to gather our heads together and shoot our focus group pitch as well as post it up as planned.
The next step would be to write up a formal focus group evaluation which consists of and explains all of the information which was gather and our next actions and what will be and has been done after considering the information which has been gathered,
Promotional Tool
The promotional stage of a Music video is very fundamental aspect due to the fact that through this we are able to form the picture of exactly who the artist is as well as determining the success of the Music video. This is also important in the aspect of maintaining the image of an artist as whenever their appearance or style may die out, through using a music video as a promotional tool we are able to continuously grab the attention of the audience through fresh ideas shown through music videos, show off the artists talents, for the exposure and expansion of the artists product and profitable purposes.
An example of the use of a Promotional tool in terms of an Artist would be Beyonce - Whom is one of the Queen's in the Music industry is definitely an example of this. Beyonce grew up in a very Christian background with a very sweet and loving persona which revolved around the sweet sound of gospel songs such as 'When Jesus says yes' or even through her various 'Gospel Medleys' within the group Destiny's Child.
However, When she grew up and became much more prominent in the music industry, Most key and faithful fans would remember her humble beginnings as the dramatic style of her music recent music videos have meant that those aspects are key due to these dramatic changes. I believe that changes made by her Record label who signed her led to these changes in order to make her stand out among other artists which is shown through the difference in her singing Gospel Melody to her newest album 'Lemonade' in the song 'Formation' where the music video is very contrary to these sweet ideals of Beyonce which were changed in this music video to the 'Sexy' Beyonce which is a very strong feminine figure. Through this music video, we are able to note through the language used in the music video which even involves swearing and quite explicit clothing and more sexualised behaviour therefore showing her development as a tool and how her music videos have also been used to show a timeline of this change whilst also exposing and promoting more of Beyonce to the world.
Extension of Outlets
In order for music videos to be able to progress, be published and increase in popularity, there must be various outlets in which the music is available for the public to be able to listen and download. These outlets have become very much popular within our days therefore allowing them to expose their songs to fans(the audience) as well as be able to get their name out there. As shown, these have definitely developed overtime as previously Music videos would have been aired in TV Shows for example Chart Shows or Shows such as MTV which isn't a channel anymore but is still used as a platform to increase the sales of artists through the playing of their music videos and songs.
An Outlet which is an example of an Extension of Outlets is YouTube is from an internet sensation
whereby Music videos from all scales of popularity are shared on this platform.
This often works on the basis of paying given Artists on the basis of their views which they get on their videos and often promotes artists as well through adverts and even a trending option.
MTV aforementioned, was a Cable channel previously however now is much more of an online platform which promotes and broadcasts Media products and Music videos. This predominately changed music videos in the sense that I can definitely say that it was the birth of Music videos through which Music videos were much more exposed to new techniques and ways of editing for instance Cutting to the beat and also a better quality of shots.
Other extension of outlets also include Spotify and Itunes which enable downloading of music from fans which is profitable because it enables them to the audience to download the songs on MP3 format and listen to the songs over and over again which increases the likelihood of them going on further to watch them in music videos and also the extension of income as there will be more views on the song.
Major/Indie/Unsigned Record Labels
Record Labels also help to aid the purpose of music videos simply because through record labels, artist(s) whom are usually signed to these labels are able to produce products of high quality for instance Music videos. Through these record labels, Artists are also able to have their music videos or songs produced as well as the management of tours and merchandise handled by the company in order to promote them.
Record labels often vary in their popularity however here I would identify that the focus would be Major record labels. Major Record Labels are fundamental in the growth of a music artist and essentially guarantee that everything which they produce is of high quality. Some Major record labels include Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Bros. Music and these are just some of the major names amongst many. These companies are the ones which are often highly recognised and who's high budgets of money enables them to nurture upcoming artists as well as manipulate videos and products in order to capture the minds and hearts of many therefore benefiting both the artist and the record company in financial terms very well. An example of a Major Record Labels work would be Sony Music and the artist Future, who is a recent Rap sensation which has blown the streets with his hard hitting music and visual sensation. Sony would probably pay millions in order for him to have the facilities to produce music as well as publicity of his music as well as him as a person through billboards, magazines and things of such sort which not only benefits the artists are they are much more well known thus open to more opportunities however Record labels also benefit from this as they are more likely to have more artists want to work with them.
Indie/Unsigned Record labels often refer to labels which still do the same work as Major Record Labels engage in however in a much smaller scale due to their funds and work much more independently due to the money gap in comparison with Major Record Labels which often have much more tools to be able to breakthrough properly. Artists who are signed to Indie or Unsigned Record Labels are often less likely to go unnoticed or not given as much attention as those who work with Major Record Labels which may be a downfall however there are many success stories such as Stormzy who isn't yet signed to a Major record Label however is a Grime Sensation and I do also believe that through working with Indie or Unsigned Labels, artists are also much more inclined to build real and personal relationships with people who have the same aims as them and do not just have financial intentions.
Synergy
A Synergy is defined as a collaboration or work partnership between two companies or institutions who work together in order to promote one another's work as well as support eachother's work which is done in order to cause a greater effective than both institutions have as individuals - in this case, this may involve an Artist and a Brand which is presented to the audiences which both companies tailor to.
Collaborations have become very frequent these days and often range between things so for example it may between An artists and various types of companies ie Food, Clothing, Sports Brands etc or much specifically with Music videos, it involves a Music video working together with a Film therefore allowing the song to promote the film and visa-versa.
An example of this is 'See You Again by Wiz Khalifa Ft Charlie Puth'.
Through this music video, we are able to see that the collabortation between Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth in order to produce this song which was a key asset to the film 'Fast and Furious 7' simply because not only did the success of the film reignite knowledge of the artist Wiz Khalifa and shed light to Charlie Puth but we were able to quickly identify the two artists and the song produced with the Film and what it denoted therefore making more people being inclined to connect with the Fast and Furious Movie as they engaged with the song therefore bringing success on both sides. Aforementioned, the fans of the movie will enjoy watching short clips from the movie whilst listening to the song, making them want to buy the song and listen to it again separately. Similarly, fans of the band will want to listen to them perform but once they see the various clips from the movie will want to book tickets to the cinema to watch the full thing. Therefore, synergy is an effective way of boosting two companies popularity/revenue/gross etc, here both will benefit from their simple collaboration with each other.
Extension of Income
There are many companies which pay for Artists to publish their content on outlets such as Youtube, Itunes, Spotify etc in order for audiences to be able to engage with them either online or offline.
Through this, artists are able to increase in popularity as they available to download or listen to; this therefore increase exposure of the artists as their name is spread amongst audiences as well as the fact that their song is much more played in public. Extensions such as Youtube which as previously mentioned, pay in accordance to the number of views which an artist(s) may get is very profitable as it enables artists to be able to move onwards and upwards especially considering the popularity and size of this platform however platforms/extensions such as DVD's or Itunes are also a great way of promoting the artist and gaining income as they are able to gain profit through sales of their music and albums if any as the playbility of the music is increased and the audience are much more able to enagage with the artist.
This has however increasingly become a problem as due to the fact that these extensions of income which enable downloads on a high demand, this has also led to the emergence of Illegal Downloads through illegal means and illegal websites which aid this. Although copyright laws have been introduced and there have been calls for tougher rulings in this department, this does essentially affect Artist(s) and their respective companies income as this means people are less likely to pay for or purchase content or material where there are websites or platforms available which enable them to make 'Free' downloads of content which would otherwise be paid for.
This week, We were assigned a task to search through different websites for example, Unsigned.com, Youtube etc for an artist that i can use for my music video however the artist must be unsigned for me in order to use them for my idea. I was very fortunate to have the privilege to not have to use an unsigned artist because one of the artists which I was perusing replied to me and gave me permission to use their song therefore I have focused on preparing my Music idea pitch in order for my group which is yet to be decided to choose if they would like to carry out my idea. It was very difficult to find an unsigned artist since initially your looking for an unsigned artist that you like and have an idea for what your music video would look like however it was much harder for me to present my pitch rather than finding my artist in my coincidence.
Questionnaire: 1. What is your gender? Male Female 2. What is your ethnicity? 3. What is your age? 4. Are you in full time education? Yes/No. (If no please specify what you do) 5. What area do you live in? 6. What is your favourite music genre? e.g Hip hop. 7. Do you like rap music? Yes/No (If so what do you like about it?) 8. When was the last time that you watched a music video? 9. What is the first thing that you look for in a music video and why? 10. When was the last time that you bought a CD, artist merchandise and/or songs or albums from platform such as iTunes? 11. How often do you visit video sites? Never Everyday Once a week Once a month Once a year Other (Please specify) 12. If you could create a music video what are the top things you would highlight as most important? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
2. Do you think our music video suits the lyrics? 3. What is your opinion of our song?
4. Would you change anything about our music video? if yes then please specify what. 5. What did you like about our music video? 6. Would you recommend this music video to friends and family? 7. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve it? If yes then please specify what. 8. Do you think this music video is suitable for our target audience? 9. What do you think about our location? Would you change it? If yes please specify why? & where?
This is an idea of how exactly I want some of the 'extras/cast' in my music video to look and here are the styles which the females in my videos will be inspired by and the looks they will go for. Of course, They will not be exactly the same or naked as shown in the picture however this is just an idea of how each cast member or character has a different look or personality to them which represents their style and who they are. I believe that this is the easiest, most effective way to show this.
