Shooting Day 2

Shooting Day 2: Today we shot the street shots with the artist dressed in the American print leggings. For this shoot I had to be dressed in this outfit in the street and on a zebra crossing while lip singing to the song. Needless to say, I got a few funny looks. We filmed this in December and so it was freezing! Due to the fact it was -1°C we had to film it quickly. While on camera, I could not wear my coat however as soon as the camera was off, I was finally able to warm up a little.  Due to the cold weather we tried to film this sequence as quick as possible. As it was our first proper shooting experience, it did not always go to plan. An example of this was the walking shot we attempted, we liked it but it looked too shaky and unprofessional. It soon started to rain and we could no longer shoot. 

Record Label

                                     

After researching various different record labels I have decided our artist could be signed to Polydor. I chose this record label as our artist would be seen as an up and coming and a new breakthrough act. This record label seemed like a perfect choice as they have already signed indie and pop artists such as Snow Patrol and Duffy. Polydor is also based in the UK which makes it more likely to sign our down to earth British artist.

Institutional Research

Def Jam Recordings:

Island Def Jam Music Group was formed in 1999 when Universal Music Group merged Island Records and Def Jam Recordings. Def Jam Recordings is an American record which is focused primarily on hip hop and urban music. Def Jam was created by Rick Rubin and its first release was a single by his punk-rock group ‘Hose’. The first few singles released did well, leading to a distribution deal with CBS Records (this later became Sony Music Entertainment). Def Jam signed its first and only heavy metal band ‘Slayer’ in 1986. Soon after the label signed ‘Public Enemy’, whose controversial lyrics earned the label a reputation. In 1988 Lyor Cohen became president of Def Jam and Rub left to form Def American Recordings (now known as American Recordings). Def Jam Recordings currently signs artists such as; Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West and Gorillaz.

Polydor:

Polydor is owned by Universal Music Group and has its headquarters based in the UK. Polydor first became a pop music label in 1946. During the 1970’s Polydor became a major rock label but also had many disco artists. They had platinum-selling disco acts such as the Bee Gees and Gloria Gaynor. In the early 1980’s the label signed The Who and  The Jam. Although the American branch did not do well, in the UK, Polydor is still one of the strongest labels in the country.  Polydor has signed artists such as, Cheryl Cole, Duffy, Ellie Goulding as well as indie artist such as Snow Patrol and The Maccabees. In Spring 2006 Polydor launched Fascination Records. Both Girls Aloud and Sophie Ellis-Bextor transferred to the new label as well as new artists such as The Saturdays and Girls Can’t Catch. Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato are some of the newest artists to transfer from the US label Hollywood Records, to Fascination.

Roc Nation:

Roc Nation was established in April 2008 when Live Nation partnered with Jay-Z. Roc Nation also has an entertainment company named Takeover Roc Nation, located in the UK. Records are released with Sony Music Entertainment and partners with Live Nation. Since it was first established Roc Nation has signed artists such as, Rita Ora, Alexis Jordan and Sugababes. Roc Nation also manages artists such as Shakira, Kylie Minogue and Rihanna. As well as managing and signing artists, Chase and Status and Timbaland are just a few producers as well as DJ’s such as Solange Knowles. 

Inspirational Music Video's- Lily Allen

I found Lily Allen’s music video for ‘LDN’ very inspirational as it had many things I wanted to achieve in our music video. I also thought her star image would be similar to our artist. I particularly liked the use of the urban, rundown setting as it showed the artist was down to earth and relatable. The use of bright colours stands out from the grey and dull colours of the location, I liked this idea as it created a contrast. I felt that the use of the glamorous but casual look was unique and would also be effective in creating our star image. I wanted our star image to be relatable but still have a unique edge and quality to her, using some of the ideas presented in this video could help to achieve this. The use of the bright colours around her almost created a ‘bubble’ around her and made everyone else oblivious to her. I liked this idea and think this would look effective in our music video if every other character was oblivious to the artist. The use of the darker themes in an upbeat song is similar to our song choice allows this video to be a good example of ideas to draw on. I particularly liked the mood and tone throughout this video as it matched the upbeat tone of the song. Quick edits were effective throughout as they matched the beat and tone. I think that if done correctly, this could be just as effective in our music video.  I particularly liked the use of mood change to demonstrate the difference between daydreams and reality. This idea could be used in our music video however we would use the mood change to demonstrate the difference between the highs and lows of the artist’s relationship.

Shooting Day 1

Shooting Day 1: We practiced using the green screen so we could see how it looked. We also wanted to practice editing it to see if it would work with our music video. We decided to attempt a birds eye shot of the artist singing. When filming this Sophie found it difficult to hold the camera very still at the angle above me. As this was a practice we thought this was not important as we just wanted to test how well it edited. We also wanted to test how well I would be able to lip sing and be in front of the camera. This was done early on as it meant that we could still find someone else if need be. This was the first time I had been in front of the camera and had to be the artist. We were pleased with how well in sync it was. 

Inspirational Music Video's- Taylor Swift

I found Taylor Swift’s music video for ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ very inspirational as it gave me many ideas for our own music video and star image. The themes of this song were similar to ours, as both artists are describing a bad boyfriend and what he has done. This meant that some of the ways he is represented could be very similar to our music video. I liked the idea of both the good and the bad parts of the relationship were shown in this music video and I would like to use this idea for our own music video. I also think her attitude to her boyfriend is very similar to how our artist will act in our video. I loved how it began and ended in the same place however the artist had made an achievement; in this case breaking up with her boyfriend. I would like to use this idea in our music video to show a change in circumstances from the beginning to end. I also think this idea will help to enhance our narrative.

I particularly liked the transitions between locations however I wasn’t sure how we could successfully achieve this without access to a studio or professional editing software. I would still like to attempt this idea just to see if it is possible. I also liked the synaesthesia used during the chorus however I don’t think this would fit with our music therefore we won’t be using this idea.

There are various costume changes throughout the music video and this is something we planned on doing to make the video more interesting and contrast between each location. I also really liked the red lipstick as it stood out and created a more glamorous look. The costumes had a very realistic, everyday feel and the red lipstick made it stand out and appear a little more glamorous. 

Response to Pitch

Our pitch involves both narrative and performance. The overall narrative is the progression through a relationship with a bad boyfriend and it ends with our artist ending the relationship. Due to the tone of the song we also wanted to have a comic element to this narrative. To achieve this we aim for our artist to have a certain cheeky and 'tongue-in-cheek' attitude. I like Lily Allen's down to earth and similar attitude and star image. I aim to use her as inspiration for some of the body language and representation of our artist in the music video.