Hollywood Undead - No. 5

They were first discovered on a social networking site called 'myspace', said to be the leading unsigned artists by 2006, by 2008 they had over 40 million plays and finally released one of their most popular tracks, 'No. 5' otherwise known as 'Undead', in august of 2008 having signed their first record deal 3 years earlier. This song contains swearing and may includes unsuitable language and onscreen content for the younger veiwer, raising the age of the target audience into late teens, early twenties.

In this fast paced song, the video reflects the speed of the music. With it's fast beat, there are a lot of cuts to the film itself and special effects to change the appearance of the screen itself, rather than only one element. 

They set their video in lots of different places, giving the onscreen action a wide variation, making it that much more interesting for the veiwer.  The change from one place to another is a very sharp cut, happening quickly and often, keeping up with the fast pace of the music. They also revisit many of the places, introducing the idea of some repetition into the video. One particular shot included that I found interesting, was a very good show of perspective and a strong yellow colour, bringing a flash of 'warmth' into the video. This camera angle also draws  the eye to one point on the screen, giving the audience a solid focal point.

One aspect of this group that is rather unique, is that they always wear masks in their videos, making them very individual by concealing their identities to the majority of their fans. This is something also done by the band "Gorillaz", who are represented by animation character, when played live, they play in the dark with the animation showing,
I think that that idea of masks is very good, making the video slightly surreal and more interesting with a different focal point, rather than the famous singers themselves, giving them an air of mystery.

Weezer - Troublemaker [[ Initial Ideas ]]

I have chosen the song 'Troublemaker' by Weezer. It is quite a fast and upbeat song and the lyrics do not seem to include any political message. Target audience - they younger generation due to the prominent beat and fast pace.

Originally formed in 1992, Weezer is 'American alternative Rock Band' originating from Los Angeles, California. At present, there are four members in the band : Rivers Coumo [Lead Vocals and Guitar], Patrick Wilson [Drums and Backing vocals] who were both original, as well as Brian Bell [Guitar and Backing Vocals] and Scott Shriner [Bass and Back Vocals]

Initial Ideas
-Show the band setting up in fast motion.
-Have dancers for each chorus, each in a different setting.
-Try and relate the onscreen action to the lyrics and pace of the song.
-Guitar solo; close up on the guitarists fingers.
-Special effects when the music changes for a moment, 'highlighting' these parts.
-Show the band walking out, turning the light off, closing the door.

StoryBoard Ideas, more detailed
Before the music starts
-Flicks on the light, go onto the room.
-Sets up - Drummer sits down, plugs in guitar, flicks on amp.
Intro starts
-Guitarist begins to strum, camera moves upwards to his face by the time he starts singing. [books bit, might use green screen]
-When the bass kicks in, make the screen go 'bass' special effect, for the first three times.
-Play football, just two people, one tackle the other hard, ball in between them.
Chorus
- People doing a simple dance, in masks. About 5 people doing the same dance, change of places twice/three times each chorus, different 'formations'
Wanana
- Close up to guitar, special effect? emphasise short solo.
"That's right!"
-People with masks jump, arms up, legs out
-Back to band
Having 7 kids
- Have the 7 people appear and disappear like the books, standing on a bench
Chorus
-Same dance, different setting
End
- Back to the band, chorus dancers running crazy on the beach away from camera or, bring arms into self at front, swing.... Band walk out, guitars over shoulders and such, turns off light, slams door with sound effect, solid end.

Settings:-
Band:- Emmanual Christian centre
Books:- Inside on the floor
Tackle:- A field
See settings for Dancers
[[Green Screen at College]]

Dancers:-
Beach [Arrow pointing forwards]
A bench in the highstreet [2 up 3 down]
A wall =/ [1 behind two on wall, 2 in front]
Springfield [3 behind white barrier, 2 in front/use netting/goal post]
Gorey Castle [2 kneeling, 3 behind]
In a classroom?? [on chairs, tables, floor]
Garden with wall in bg [Sun loungers, standing, sitting on window sill]
Park [Swings, Slide, SeeSaw etc]

Props:-
5 masks.
Lots of books
Band Equipment - Guitar, Drums, Mics, Mic Stands, Wires, Amps.
Football

Music Videos

A music video is a piece of onscreen movement or action which is played alongside the track, in synch. It normally lasts the same, or at least, a similar length of time to the song. Often it reflects the time period of the song as well as being related to the lyrics. Nearly all music videos have the same beat or pace as the track itself, giving the audience something to watch that they can associate with a song. Music videos are mainly shown on 'music channels' on televisions with extra channels rather than the generic 4 or 5. The first music video, ever played on the music channel 'MTV' was on August 1st, 1981 and have grown, massively in popularity and quality since then.

Each song track and music video has it's own target audience, which is the main group of people that the video and song will appeal to. The target audience is one of the most important think about and research when creating and producing a product, such as a music video. This song, and music video, have a target audience of late teens, early twenties of both genders due to it's fast beat and upbeat melody.

Plies - Hypnotize

This song has a steady, relaxed beat, reflected by the slow onscreen movement, and even though bright colours are included, none are striking or draw your attention directly to them. The first shot is taken of the lead singer Plies, sitting in his car. This shows the kind of culture he lives in, sitting in a sports car with woman standing around. A phone call starts off the song, this is also shown on screen between two people, both sitting in their seperate cars talking on the phone, the close ups showing their expressions.

This music video has a similar style to another of Plies' songs "Pop Lock and Drop it", showing a large gathering of cars, men and woman, showing the culture of these people and the aspect of community. Hypnotize, unlike "Pop Lock and Drop it", is shot at night, changing the atmosphere to more of a party style and perhaps suggesting the idea of 'underground'.

When Plies sees a girl dancing that he becomes 'hypnotized' by, the woman becomes the main focus on the screen, with her in focus in the centre, and the background becomes blurry, I think that this is very good special effect, being able to draw the audience's attention to where you want it on the screen. Another effect used in this video, is the extreme close up on the dancer's eye showing Plies within it. This shows that the female has also seen the him in return and has her focus on him.

During various parts of the song, the track is 'scratched' as if it were a record. On occasions were this is done, the screen flashes back and forth between two scenes, changing from one to the other in fast succession. This is a device to highlight the slight change of beat for those few moments, bringing the pace of the music video up slightly. It is also used to change from one shot to a completely different one, rather than cutting from the first to the second.

Papa Roach - Scars

This song, "Scars" by Papa Roach, was released on the Album "Getting Away with Murder" in 2004, which is also the title of another song by this band. The video tells the story of the singer's girlfriend who constantly gets drunk, on her way out she accidentally knocks over a candle which sets a mat on fire. This causes the house to burn down, which she finally returns to and realises what she's done. This story unfolds throughout the video, the setting for the band playing in a burnt out shell of a house.

There are only three very simple settings included in the entirety of the video. The lead singer's supposed home, a party and a
baron, burnt wreckage. This keeps the video very easy to follow, which is a good thing, it also enables it to, with the lyrics, tell a story of sorts.

The party is very busy, as any party would be, until the main female shows up in a red dress. the colour itself is very striking, and with all the other colours on screen having been dulled down, making the red the main focus. The same is done with the baron wasteland. The red guitar, an item in the background, as well as a piece on the singer's jacket, all in red, are distinctly picked out, drawing the attention of the audience. I think that this technique is very good and I would like to use it in my own work.

The background where the band are playing, is mainly black and grey, making the whole scene very bleak, almost depressing, which reflects the lyrics. It gives the idea of hopelessness and pain, both emotions that are shown on the singer's face when there are close ups as well as his strong, broad hand movements. The band is shown playing in the burnt wreckage, as well as showing the audience the setting in a clear manner, giving a 'bird's eye veiw' of the area, it also reminds the audience that they should be focusing on the music rather than the onscreen action, highlighting the use of instruments and vocals, taking their attention away from the story line of this particular video and reminding them of the music itself.

Serj Tankian - Empty Walls

It is said that this song, 'Empty walls' By Serj Tankian, has been described as a "traditionally pummeling rocker." It was released on September 10 in 2007 and is now on Serj Tankian's debut album, 'Elect the Dead'.

This video is very fast paced and quite 'heavy'. The lyrics could be described as violent

'Can't you see those bodies burning, desolate and full of yearning'

The video itself reflects that. When the music slows down, so does the onscreen action. The lyrics are about war and the suffering of the innocent people, the video shows many aspects of war, represented by children in a play area, showing innocence and ignorance. There are two towers of bricks, a toy plane comes and knocks them down, almost certainly representing the 9/11 attack in America which happened in 2001. Other aspects of war included are tanks, 'silly string' representing firearms and shootings. Another significant point in the video includes the children attatching ropes about a large teddy bear which is standing on a big block. It is brought down and they run around it, representing the bringing down of the Sadam Hussein's statue and it being beaten with shoes. This is evidently a very political piece of work which is an aspect of the video and I really like.

Chris Brown - With You

Chris Brown's "With You" was released on December 4th, 2007 in the USA and was the album's third single.

The music video matches the pace of the music itself, the pain in the song being illustrated by the travelling through the town at night via bus alone. When the beat becomes more prominent, the artist dances in the street, the secluded location of his seat on the bus making this very relaxed, much like the song itself.

I have included a screen shot of a guitar at a specific angle. I think this is a very good idea which I would like to include in my own music video. It also removes the audience from the emotion of the video itself, highlighting the instruments being used, making the audience aware of the acoustic element of the track.

I have also included some smaller shots of Chris Brown, throughout the music video, showing his tshirt to be different colours. Because of the way the colours change, fading quickly between about 4 different colours in one scene, it is very obviously special effects, this device adds interest to each short scene that he is dancing in, when wearing that top.

In one particular screen shot that I have included, Chris Brown is kneeling in the middle of the road, this is obviously green screen due to it being dangerous to do this and not being able to achieve the desired affect of blur with the car's lights. The singer, kneeling down, was filmed in front of a green screen, the background, run in fast motion to show the lights on the cars, was edited in afterwards, producing the effect of the lights speeding past a man kneeling in the middle of the road. I liked the idea of giving the foreground and the background two seperate time scales.

The fact that he's only thinking of one person, according to the lyrics, but only sees his other friends, makes the video reflect the song as skaters go past, there are other people around who he greets, but the girl only arrives at the end, his facial expression changes from dead pan to a smile. At one point he is kneeling in the middle of the road, showing helplessness, the lights rushing past, supposedly to represent cars, shows that time passes really slowly when he's not with the girl he wants to be with.

[[Due to being unable to embed this particular video I have instead placed a link here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9qEPjIwTE0 ]]